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PLAIN FACTS 



ABOUT 



Sexual iIife 



BY 



H. KELLOGG, M. D. 



EDITOR OF THE HEALTH REFORMER: PROFESSOR OF PHYSIOLOGY AND 

HYGIENE IN BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE! AUTHOR OF "PROPER DIET 

FOR MAN.*" "USES OF WATER.'* "ALCOHOLIC POISON.' 1 

"EVILS OF FASHIONABLE DRESS,' 1 HEALTH TRACTS. ETC. 



PUBLISHED AT 

THE OFFICE OF THE HEALTH REFORMER, 

BATTLE CREEK, MICH. 

1877. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 

J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



PREFACE. 



The publishers of this work offer no apology for pre- 
senting it to the reading public, since the wide preva- 
lence of the evils which it exposes is sufficient warrant 
for its publication. The subjects with which it deals 
are of vital consequence to the human race ; and it is of 
the utmost importance that every effort should be made 
to dispel the gross ignorance which almost universally 
prevails, by the wide diffusion of information of the char- 
acter contained in this volume. 

This book has been written not for the young only, nor 
for any single class of persons, but for all who are old 
enough to be capable of understanding and appreciating 
it. The prime object of its preparation has been to call 
attention to the great prevalence of sexual excesses of all 
kinds and the heinous crimes resulting from some forms 
of sexual transgression, and to point out the terrible 
results which inevitably follow the violation of sexual 
law. In order to make more clear and comprehensible 
the teachings of nature respecting the laws regulating 
the sexual function, and the evils resulting from their 
violation, it has seemed necessary to preface the practi- 
cal part of the subject by a concise description of the 
anatomy of reproduction. In this portion of the work 
especial pains has been taken to avoid anything like in- 
delicacy of expression, yet it has not been deemed ad- 
visable to sacrifice perspicuity of ideas to any prudish 



IV PREFACE. 



notions of modesty. It is hoped that the reader will 
bear in mind that the language of science is always 
chaste in itself, and that it is only by the aid of a cor- 
rupt imagination that it becomes invested with impu- 
rity. The author has constantly endeavored to impart 
information in the most straight-forward, simple, and 
concise manner. 

This work should be judiciously circulated; and to 
secure this, the publishers will take care to place it in 
the hands of agents competent to circulate it with dis- 
cretion. Yet it may be read without injury by any one 
who is sufficiently mature to understand it. Great care 
has been taken to exclude from its pages those numer- 
ous accounts of the habits of vicious persons, and de- 
scriptions of the mechanical accessories of vice, with 
which many works upon sexual subjects abound, but 
which are exceedingly pernicious in their influence. 

In conclusion, the author would beg the candid con- 
sideration of the reader for the subject-matter here 
presented. If some of the ideas advanced should at 
first seem ultra and unnecessarily extreme, do not dis- 
card them without a second consideration. Ponder 
them carefully and prayerfully, and with the mind free 
from all personal bias. This is the only method of 
arriving at truth, and any investigation pursued in this 
manner can never lead an individual into grave error. 

Battle Creek, Mich., March, 1877. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

INTRODUCTION, 9 

SEXUAL LIFE, 17 

Reproduction 20 

Simplest Form of Generation 23 

Sex. 24 

Hermaphrodism, 24 

Sex ix Plants 25 

Sex in Animals, 26 

Elements of Life , 26 

Spermatozoa. 26 

Ota, 29 

Fecundation, 29 

Development of the Oyum 34 

The Uterus 36 

Uterine Gestation. 37 

Uterine Life, 41 

Parturition. 42 

Changes in the Child at Birth, 42 

Xursixg, 43 

Anatomy of the Reproductive Organs. 44 

Male Organs. 44 

Female Organs, 45 

Various Sexual Matters, < 47 

Puberty. : 47 

Menstruation, 49 

Extra-Uterine Pregnancy. 57 

Tavins, 57 

Monsters, 58 

Hybrids 60 

Lavt of Sex, 60 

Heredity, 61 

Ante-Natal Influences 64 

Circumcision, 71 

Castration, 72 

USE AND ABUSE, 73 

Sexual Precocity, 74 

Senile Sexuality, 80 

Marriage, 81 

Time to Marry 85 

v 



VI CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Early Marriage, 87 

Disparity of Age, 88 

CHASTITY, 94 

Mental Unc leanness, 96 

Amativeness, 97 

Unchaste Conversation, 99 

Causes of Unchastity, 101 

Diet vs. Chastity, 102 

Tobacco and Vice, 105 

Bad Books, 105 

Idleness, 109 

Dress and Sensuality, 110 

Physical Causes of Unchastity 114 

Constipation, 115 

Irritation of the Bladder, 115 

Modern Modes of Life, 116 

CONTINENCE, 117 

Continence not Injurious, 118 

Difficulty of Continence, 121 

Helps to Continence, 122 

MARITAL EXCESSES, 131 

Object of the Reproductive Functions, 132 

Animal Magnetism, 141 

Results of Excesses, 141 

Effects upon Husbands, 141 

Effects upon Wives, 147 

Effects upon Offspring, 151 

PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION, 160 

Conjugal Onanism 160 

" Male Continence," 167 

Shaker Vieavs, 168 

Moral Bearings of the Question, t 169 

Difficulties, 173 

INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION, 182 

Causes of the Crime 187 

The Nature of the Crime, 191 

Instruments of Crime 193 

Results of this Unnatural Crime, 194 

An I \\ welcome Child, 195 

The Remedy, 197 

Milder by Proxy 198 

THE SOCIAL EVIL, 199 

Causes of the "Social Evil, 1 ' 205 

Libidinous Blood, 205 



CONTENTS. Vll 



PAGE. 

Gluttony, 207 

Pkecociotts Sexuality, 208 

Man's Lewdness, 209 

Fashion. 210 

Lack of Early Training, 210 

Sentimental Literature, 212 

Poverty, 213 

Ignorance, 214 

Disease,. 215 

Results of Licentiousness. 216 

Hereditary Effects of Venereal Disease 220 

Cure of the ,l Social Evil, 11 222 

Prevention the only Cure, 224 

SOLITARY VICE, 233 

Alarming Prevalence of the Vice, 235 

Causes of the Habit, 239 

Evil Associations, 239 

Wicked Nurses, 241 

Local Disease, 244 

Signs of Self-Abuse, 247 

Suspicious Signs, 249 

Positive Signs. 261 

Results of Secret Vice 266 

Effects in Males. 266 

Local Effects 266 

Urethral Irritation. 267 

Stricture. 267 

Enlarged Prostate 268 

Urinary Diseases 268 

Priapism, 1 269 

Piles, 269 

Extension of Irritation, 270 

Atrophy, or Wasting, of the Testes 271 

Varicocele 271 

Nocturnal Emissions, 272 

Diurnal Emissions, 278 

Internal Emissions. 280 

Impotence. 281 

General Effects. 282 

Consumption 284 

Dyspepsia. 285 

Heart Disease 286 

Throat Affections. 286 

Nervous Diseases. 287 

Epilepsy, 287 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Failure of Special Senses, 287 

Spinal Irritation, 288 

Insanity, -289 

Effects in Females, 292 

Local Effects, 292 

Uterine Disease, 293 

Cancer of^the Womb, 293 

Sterility, 293 

Atrophy of Breasts, 294 

Pruritus, 294 

General Effects, 294 

Effects upon Offspring, 296 

Treatment of Self-Abuse and its Effects, 297 

Cultivate Chastity. 298 

Timely Warning, 299 

Cure of the Habit, 302 

General Regimen and Treatment, 306 

Mental and Moral Treatment. 307 

Exercise 309 

Diet, ', .' 310 

Sleeping, 313 

Bathing, 318 

Improvement of General Health 319 

Prostitution as a Remedy, 319 

Marriage, 321 

Local Treatment, 323 

Abdominal Bandage 324 

Wet Compress, 324 

Hot and Cold Applications to the Spine...... 324 

Local Fomentations, 325 

Local Cold Bathing, 325 

Electricity, 326 

Internal Applications, 326 

Impotence, 330 

Varicocele, 330 

Drugs, Rings, etc., 330 

Quacks. 332 

Closing Advice 335 

APPENDIX, 339 

Food and Diet, 339 

Condiments, 339 

Animal Food, 340 

Pastry, 341 

Hints Respecting Food and Diet, 342 

Hydropathic Appliances, 346 



INTRODUCTION. 



Books almost without number have been 
written upon the subject treated in this work. 
Unfortunately, most of these works have been 
designed as advertising mediums for some spe- 
cific or other patent nostrum, and are utterly 
unreliable, being filled with gross misrepresenta- 
tions and exaggerations. To add to their power 
for evil, many of them abound with pictorial 
illustrations which are in no way conducive to 
virtue or morality, but rather excite the animal 
propensities and stimulate lewd imaginations. 
Books of this character meet with a ready sale, 
and this is, undoubtedly, the chief reason for 
their preparation and publication. Their per- 
nicious influence is fully as great as is that of 
works of a more grossly obscene character. 

In most of the few instances in which the 
evident motive of the author is not of an un- 
worthy character, the manner of presenting the 
subject is such that it more frequently than 
otherwise has a strong tendency in a direction 
exactly the opposite of that intended and desired. 
The author of the following pages has endeav- 
ored to avoid the latter evil by adopting a style 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

of presentation somewhat different from that 
generally pursued. Instead of restricting the 
reader's attention rigidly to the sexual function 
in man, his mind is diverted by frequent refer- 
ences to corresponding functions in lower an- 
imals and in the vegetable kingdom. By this 
means, not only is an additional fund of infor- 
mation imparted, but the sexual function in man 
is divested of its sensuality. It is viewed as a 
fact of natural history, and is associated with 
the innocency of animal life and the chaste love- 
liness of flowers. Thus the subject comes to be 
regarded from a purely physiological stand-point, 
and is liberated from the gross animal instinct 
which is the active cause of sensuality. 

There are so many well-meaning individuals 
who object to the agitation of this subject in 
any manner whatever, that it may be profitable 
to consider in this connection some of the prin- 
cipal objections which are urged against impart- 
ing information on sexual subjects, especially 
against giving knowledge to the young. 

1. Sexual matters improper to be spoken of to 
the young. 

This objection is often raised, it being urged 
that these matters are too delicate to be even 
suggested to children; that they ought to be 
kept in total ignorance of all sexual matters and 
relations until nature indicates that they are fitted 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

to receive them. It is doubtless true that children 
raised in a perfectly natural way would have no 
'sexual thoughts until puberty, at least, and it 
would be better if it might be so ; but from cir- 
cumstances pointed out in succeeding portions of 
this work it is apparent that at the present time 
children always do have some vague ideas of 
sexual relations long before puberty, and often 
at a very early age. It is thus apparent that by 
speaking to children of sexual matters in a prop- 
er manner an entirely new subject is not intro- 
duced to them, but it is merely presenting to 
them in a true light a subject of which they al- 
ready have vague ideas ; and thus, by satisfying 
a natural curiosity, they are saved from supply- 
ing by their imaginations distorted images and 
exaggerated conceptions, and from seeking to ob- 
tain the desired information from evil sources 
whence they would derive untold injury. 

What reason is there that the subject of the 
sexual functions should be treated with such 
maudlin secrecy ? Why should the function of 
generation be regarded as something low and 
beastly, unfit to be spoken of by decent people 
on decent occasions ? We can conceive of no an- 
swer except the worse than beastly use to which 
the function has been so generally put by man. 
There is nothing about the sexual organism 
which makes it less pure than the lungs or the 
stomach. " Unto the pure all things are pure," 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

may have been written especially for our times 
when there is such a vast amount of mock mod- 
esty; when so much pretense of virtue covers* 
such a world of iniquity and vice. The young 
lady who goes into a spasm of virtuous hysterics 
upon hearing the word " leg" pronounced, is just 
the one who at home riots her imagination in vo- 
luptuous French novels, if she commits no gross- 
er breach of chastity. The parents who are the 
most opposed to imparting information to the 
young are often those who have themselves in- 
dulged in sexual excesses. In the minds of such 
persons the sexual organs and functions and ev- 
ery thing even remotely connected with them are 
only associated with ideas of lust and gross sen- 
suality. No wonder that they wish to keep such 
topics in the dark. With such thoughts they 
cannot well bear the scrutiny of virtue. 

Sexual subjects are not, of course, proper sub- 
jects for conversation at all times, or at any time 
in a spirit of levity and flippancy. 

2. Knowledge is dangerous. 

Very true, knowledge is dangerous, but igno- 
rance is more dangerous still ; or, rather, partial 
knowledge is more dangerous than a more com- 
plete understanding of facts. Children, young 
people, will not grow up in innocent ignorance. 
If, in obedience to custom, they are not encour- 
aged to inquire of their parents about the mys- 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

teries of life, they will seek to satisfy their curi- 
osity 7 by appealing to older or more informed 
companions. They will eagerly read any book 
which promises any hint on the mysterious sub- 
ject, and will embrace every opportunity, proper 
or improper — and most likely to be the latter — 
of obtaining the coveted information. Knowl- 
edge obtained in this uncertain and irregular 
way must of necessity be very unreliable. 
Many times — generally, in fact — it is of a most 
corrupting character, and the clandestine manner 
in which it is obtained is itself corrupting and 
demoralizing. A child ought to be taught to ex- 
pect all such information from its parents, and it 
ought not to be disappointed. 

Again, while it is true that knowledge is dan- 
gerous, it is equally true that this dangerous 
knowledge will be gained sometime, at any rate ; 
and as it must come, better let it be imparted by 
the parent, who can administer proper warnings 
and cautions along with it, than by any other in- 
dividual. Thus may the child be shielded from 
injur}- to which he would otherwise be certainly 
exposed. 

3. Young people should be left to find out 
these things for themselves. 

If human beings received most of their knowl- 
edge by instinct, as animals do, this might be a 
proper course; but man gets his knowledge 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

largely by instruction. Young people will get 
their first knowledge of sexual matters mostly 
by instruction from some source. How much 
better, then, as we have already shown, to let 
them obtain this knowledge from the most nat- 
ural and most reliable source ! 

The following paragraph from Dr. Ware is to 
the point: — 

" But putting aside the question whether we 
ought to hide this subject wholly from the 
young if we could, the truth, it is to be feared, 
is that we cannot if we would. Admitting it to 
be desirable, every man of experience in life will 
pronounce it to be impracticable. If, then, we 
cannot prevent the minds of children from being- 
engaged in some way on this subject, may it 
not be better to forestall evil impressions by 
implanting good ones, or at least to mingle such 
good ones with the evil as the nature of the case 
admits ? Let us be at least as wise as the crafty 
enemy of man, and cast in a little wheat with 
his tares ; and among the most effectual methods 
of doing this is to impart to the young just and 
religious views of the nature and purposes of 
the relation which the Creator has established 
between the two sexes." 

When Shall Information Be Given ? — It is a 
matter of some difficulty to decide the exact age 
at which information on sexual subjects should 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

be given to the young. It may be adopted as a 
safe rule, however, that a certain amount of 
knowledge should be imparted as soon as there 
is manifested a curiosity in this direction. If 
there is reason to believe that the mind of the 
child is exercised in this direction, even though 
he may have made no particular inquiries, in- 
formation should not be withheld. 

Hovj to Impart Proper Knowledge. — No lit- 
tle skill may be displayed in introducing these 
subjects to the mind of the young person in such 
a way as to avoid arousing his passions and 
creating sexual excitement. Perhaps the gener- 
al plan followed in the first portion of this work 
will be found a very pleasant and successful 
method if studied thoroughly and well executed. 

All information should not be given at once. 
First obtain the child's confidence, and assure 
him by candor and unreserve that you will give 
him all needed information ; then, as he encount- 
ers difficulties, he will resort for explanation 
where he knows he will receive satisfaction. 
When the little one questions, answer truthfully 
and carefully. 

The following paragraph by Dr. Wilkinson is 
suggestive : — 

" When we are little boys and girls, our first 
inquiries about our whence are answered by the 
authoritative dogma of the 'silver spade;' we 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

Were dug up with that implement. By degrees 
the fact comes forth. The public, however, re- 
mains for ages in the silver-spade condition of 
mind with regard to the science of the fact ; and 
the doctors foster it by telling us that the whole 
subject is a medical property. . . . There is 
nothing wrong in the knowing ; and, though the 
passions might be stimulated in the first mo- 
ments by such information, yet in the second in- " 
stance they will be calmed by it ; and, ceasing 
to be inflamed by the additional goad of curios- 
ity and imagination, they will cool down under 
the hydropathic influences of science. Well- 
stated knowledge did never yet contribute to 
human inflammation ; and we much question 
whether the whole theory of the silver spade be 
not a mistake ; and whether children should not 
be told the truth from the first ; that before de- 
sire and imagination are born, the young mind 
may receive, in its cool innocency, the future ob- 
jects of powers and faculties which are to be 
subject afterward to such strong excitements." 

J. H. K. 



SEXUAL LIFE, 



LIFE, in its great diversity of forms, has ever 
been a subject of the deepest interest to ra- 
tional beings. Poets have sung of its joys and 
sorrows, its brilliant phantasies and harsh reali- 
ties. Philosophers have spent their lives in vain 
attempts to solve its mysteries ; and some have 
held and thought that life is nothing more than 
a stupendous farce, an optical delusion. Moral- 
ists have sought to impress mankind with the 
truth that " life is real " and teeming with grave 
responsibilities. Physiologists have busied them- 
selves in observing the phenomena of life, and 
learning, therefrom, its laws. The subject is cer- 
tainly an- interesting one, and no other could be 
more worthy of the most careful attention. 

Living Beings. — Man possesses life in com- 
mon with other beings almost infinite in number 
and variety. The hugest beast that roams the 
forest or plows the main is no more a living- 
creature than the smallest insect or microscopic 
animalculum. The "big tree" of California and 
the tiny blade of grass which waves at its foot 
are alike imbued with life. All nature teems 

17 



18 SEXUAL LIFE. 

with life. The practiced eye detects multitudes 
of living forms at every glance. The microscope 
reveals whole tribes of living organisms, each of 
which, though insignificant in size, possesses or- 
gans as perfect and as useful in their sphere as 
those of greater magnitude. Under a powerful 
magnifying glass, a drop of water from a stag- 
nant pool is found to be peopled with curious an- 
imated forms ; slime from a damp rock, or a speck 
of green scum from the surface of a pond, pre- 
sents a museum of living wonders. 

Animals and Vegetables. — The first classifi- 
cation of living creatures separates them into two 
great groups, animals and vegetables. Although 
it is very easy to define the general characteris- 
tics of each of these classes, it is impossible to fix 
upon any single peculiarity which will be appli- 
cable in every case. For example, most vegeta- 
ble organisms remain stationary, receiving only 
food that is brought to them, while others move 
about in quest of nourishment, like animals. 
Most vegetables obtain their nutriment from the 
earth and the air, while animals subsist on living 
matter. A few vegetables require organic mat- 
ter for food, some even catching and killing 
small insects. 

It is found impossible to draw the precise line 
between animals and vegetables, for the reason 
just mentioned. The two classes blend so inti- 
mately that in some cases it is impossible to tell 



LIFE FORCE. 19 

whether a certain microscopic speck is an animal 
or a vegetable. But since these doubtful creat- 
ures are usually so minute that several millions 
of them can exist in a single drop of water, it is 
of no practical importance whether they are ani- 
mal or vegetable, or sometimes one and some- 
times the other, as they have been supposed to 
be by some biologists. 

Nearly all living creatures are organized be- 
ings ; that is, they possess a structure and organs ; 
but some of the lowest forms are merely little 
masses of a transparent, homogeneous jelly, 
known as protoplasm. Some of the smallest of 
these are so minute that one hundred millions of 
them could occupy the space of a cube one-thou- 
sandth of an inch on each side ; yet each one 
runs its course of life as regularly as man him- 
self, performing its proper function even more 
perfectly, perhaps. 

Life Force. — To every thinking mind the 
question often recurs, What makes the fragrant 
flower so different from the dead soil from which 
it grows ? the trilling bird so widely different 
from the inert atmosphere in which it flies ? 
What subtle power paints the rose and tunes the 
merry songster's voice ? To explain this mys- 
tery, philosophers of olden time — and some more 
modern ones have done likewise — supposed the 
existence of a certain peculiar force which they 
called life force, or vital force, or vitality. This 



20 SEXUAL LIFE. 

supposition does nothing more than furnish an 
empty name for a thing unknown, and the very 
existence of which may fairly be doubted. In 
fact, any attempt to find a place for such a force, 
to understand its origin, or harmonize its exist- 
ence with that of other well-known forces, is un- 
successful ; and the theory of a peculiar vital 
force, a presiding, entity present in every living 
thing, vanishes into thin air to give place to the 
more rational view of more advanced modern 
scientists, that vital force, so-called, is only a 
manifestation of the ordinary forces of nature 
acting through a peculiar arrangement of matter. 
In other words, life depends not upon a peculiar 
force, but upon a peculiar arrangement of mat- 
ter actuated by the ordinary forces pertaining to 
matter. 

Reproduction. 

The two great functions of life, which are com- 
mon to plants and animals, are nutrition and re- 
production; the first for the development and 
maintenance of the individual, the second for 
the formation of new individuals, or the preser- 
vation of the race. Nutrition is a purely selfish 
process ; reproduction is purely unselfish in its 
object, though the human species — unlike the 
lower animals, which, while less intelligent, are 
far more true to nature — too often pervert its 
functions to the most grossly selfish ends. 



RE PR OD UCTTON. 21 

It may be both interesting and instructive to 
notice some of the different methods of reproduc- 
tion, or generation, observed in different classes 
of living beings ; but before doing so, a word should 
be said concerning a theoretical form of genera- 
tion which cannot be called reproduction. 

Spontaneous Generation. — By spontaneous 
generation is meant the supposed formation of liv- 
ing creatures directly from dead matter without 
the intervention of other living organisms. The 
theory is an old one, in substance. The ancients 
supposed that the frogs and other reptiles so 
abundant in the vicinity of slimy pools and stag- 
nant marshes, were generated spontaneously from 
the mud and slime in which they lived. This the- 
ory was, of course, abandoned when the natural 
history of reptiles became known. For several 
thousand years the belief was still held that 
maggots found in decaying meat were produced 
spontaneously ; but it was discovered, centuries 
ago, that maggots are not formed if the flesh is 
protected from flies, since they are the larvae, or 
young, of a species of this insect. Another in- 
stance of belief in spontaneous generation is 
found in the supposition that so-called horse-hair 
snakes are really formed from the hairs of horses. 
This belief is still quite common, but science long 
ago exposed its falsity. 

When the microscope was discovered, it revealed 
a new world of infinitesimal beings which were 



22 SEXUAL LIFE. 

by many supposed to be of spontaneous origin ; 
but further investigation has shown that even 
these mere specks of life are not independent 
of parentage. M. Pasteur and, more recently, 
Prof. Tyndall, with many other distinguished 
scientists, have demonstrated this fact beyond all 
possibility of question. It is, then, an established 
law that every living organism originates in some 
previously existing living being or beings. 

It may be queried, If it be true that life is but 
a manifestation of the ordinary forces of matter 
— which are common to both dead and living 
matter — being dependent upon arrangement, then 
why may it not be that dead matter may, through 
the action of molecular laws, and without the in- 
tervention of any living existence, assume those 
peculiar forms of arrangement necessary to con- 
stitute life, as supposed by the advocates of the 
theory in question ? The query is pertinent, but 
is fully answered by the fact that only living 
organisms possess the power to assume the nec- 
essary arrangement. In the beginning, the Cre- 
ator formed man, animals, and all living creat- 
ures, from dead matter, by giving to it the proper 
arrangement. In order to perpetuate life, he 
gave to plants the power to t&ke dead matter 
and give to it the arrangement requisite for vital 
manifestations like their own. To animals, he 
delegated the power to form their own peculiar 
structures from the vitalized tissues of plants. 



RE PR OD UCTION. 23 

Thus, both animal and vegetable life is preserved 
without the necessity of continued acts of crea- 
tive power, each plant and each animal possessing 
the power not only to preserve its own life, but 
also to aid, at least, in the perpetuation of the 
species. 

Simplest Form of Generation. — Deep down 
beneath the waters of the ocean, covering its bot- 
tom in certain localities, is found a curious slime, 
which under the microscope is seen to be com- 
posed of minute masses of gelatinous matter, or 
protoplasm. By watching these little bodies in- 
tently for a few minutes, the observer will dis- 
cover that each is a living creature capable of 
moving, growing, and assuming a variety of 
shapes. Continued observation will reveal the 
fact that these little creatures multiply ; and a 
more careful scrutiny will enable him to see how 
they increase. Each divides into two equal parts 
so nearly alike that neither one could properly 
be called the parent. It is simply the production 
of two similar individuals from one. 

A small quantity of slime taken from the sur- 
face of a moist rock, when placed under the mi- 
croscope, will sometimes be found to be made up 
of small, round, living bodies. Careful watching 
will show that they also multiply by division ; 
but before the division occurs, two cells unite to 
form one by a process called conjugation. Then, 
by the division of this cell, instead of two similar 



24 SEXUAL LIFE. 

cells, a large number of small cells are formed, 
each of which may be considered as a bud formed 
upon the body of the parent cell and then sepa- 
rated from it to become by growth an individual 
like its parent, and, like it, to produce its kind. 
In this case, we have new individuals formed by 
the union of two entirely similar individuals. 

Sex. — Rising higher in the scale of being, we 
find that, with rare exceptions, reproduction is 
the result of the union of two dissimilar ele- 
ments. These elements do not, in higher organ- 
isms, as in lower forms of life, constitute the in- 
dividuals, but are produced by them ; and being 
unlike, they are produced by special organs, each 
adapted to the formation of one kind of elements. 
The two classes of organs usually exist in sepa- 
rate individuals, thus giving rise to distinc- 
tions of sex; an individual possessing organs 
which form one kind of elements being called a 
male, and one possessing organs for the forma- 
tion of the other kind of elements, a female. 
The sexual differences between individuals of the 
same species are not, however, confined to the 
sexual organs. In certain classes of plants and 
animals, other sexual differences are very great. 

Hermaphrodism. — An individual possessing 
both male and female organs of reproduction is 
called an hermaphrodite. Such a combination is 
very rare among higher animals ; but it is by no 



REPRODUCTIOX. 25 

means uncommon among plants and the lower 
forms of animal life. The snail, the earth-worm, 
and the taenia, or tape-worm, are examples of true 
hermaphrodites. So-called human hermaphro- 
dites are usually individuals in whom the sexual 
organs are in some manner abnormally developed, 
though they really have but one sex. Only a 
very few cases have been observed in which both 
male and female organs were present. 

Sex in Plants. — To one unacquainted with 
the mysteries of plant life and growth, the idea 
of attaching sexuality to plants seems very ex- 
traordinary ; but the botanist recognizes the fact 
that the distinctions of sex are as clearly main- 
tained in the vegetable as in the animal kingdom. 
The sexual organs of the higher orders of plants 
are flowers. Those flowers which produce seeds 
are called fertile or female flowers ; those which 
are incapable of forming seeds are sterile or male 
flowers. The fertile and sterile flowers are some- 
times produced on separate plants. More fre- 
quently, they are produced upon separate parts 
of the same plant, as in the oak, walnut, and 
many other forest trees, and Indian corn. In the 
latter plant, so familiar to every one, the " tassel " 
is the male flower, and the part known as the 
" silk," with the portion to which it is attached — 
which becomes the ear — is the female or fertile 
flower. In a large number of species, the male 
and female organs are combined in a single 
flower, making a true hermaphrodite. 



26 SEXUAL LIFE. 

Sex in Animals. — As previously remarked, 
individuals of opposite sex usually differ much 
more than in the character of their sexual organs 
only. Among higher animals, the male is usually 
larger, stronger, and of coarser structure than the 
female. The same contrast is observed in their 
mental characters. With lower animals, espe- 
cially insects, the opposite is often observed. 
The female spider is many times larger than the 
male. The male ant is small in size when com- 
pared with the female. 

Elements of Life. — We have seen that among 
all except the very lowest forms, two elements 
are necessary for the formation of a new life. 
The male element of plants is called pollen ; the 
female element, an ovule. The male reproductive 
element in animals is called a spermatozoon, or 
zoosperm. The female element is called an ovum. 

Spermatozoa. — The male element of animals 
is formed by an organ called the testis, or testicle, 
of which each male possesses two. They are 
elastic, glandular bodies one and one-half to two 
inches in length, and are usually suspended be- 
tween the thighs in a tegumentary pouch called 
the scrotum. They are formed within the cavi- 
ty of the abdomen, near the kidneys, but usually 
pass out of the abdominal cavity and descend to 
the position described. The opening in the ab- 
dominal wall is usually completely closed in a 



REPRODUCTION. 27 

short time ; but occasionally it remains open, giv- 
ing rise to hernia, an accident in which a loop of 
intestine follows the testicle down into the scro- 
tum, either completely or partially. In a few 
animals, as in the porcupine, the opening remains 
open, and the testis remains in the cavity of the 
body most of the time, passing out only at certain 
periods. The left testicle is sometimes a little 
larger than the right, and commonly hangs a lit- 









Fig*. 1. Figr. 2. Fig-. 3. 

Fig*. 1. Human spermatozoa, magnified about 400 diameters. 

Fig". 2. At the upper portion of the figure is illustrated the penetra- 
tion of the ovum by spermatozoa in the process of fecundation. At the 
lower part are shown two bundles of immature spermatozoa. 

Fig. 3. The human ovum, showing how it enlarges by subdivision of 
its contents after fecundation. 

tie lower. The testicles are connected with the 
urinary passage by means of two ducts, which 
terminate near the base of the bladder. 

A single spermatozoon somewhat resembles a 
tadpole in appearance, having, however, a much 
longer tail in proportion to the size of the body, 
as will be seen by reference to the above engrav- 
ing. 

Human spermatozoa are about 4 of an inch in 



28 SEXUAL LIFE, 

length. Those of reptiles are very much larger. 
One of the remarkable features of these minute 
elements is their peculiar movements. While 
alive, the filamentous tail is in constant action in 
a manner strongly resembling the movements of 
the caudal appendage of a tadpole. This wonder- 
ful property led the earlier observers to believe 
that they were true animalcula. But they are 
not to be regarded as such, though one can 
scarcely make himself believe otherwise while 
watching their lively evolutions, and apparent 
volitionary movement from one point to another. 

Spermatozoa originate in the testis as cells, 
which are filled with granules. After a time, 
each granule acquires a long appendage, and then 
the cell has become converted into a bundle of 
small zoosperms. Development still continues, 
until finally the thin pellicle on the outside of 
the bundle is dissolved, thus liberating the young 
spermatozoa, which speedily complete their full 
development. 

In man, the formation of spermatozoa contin- 
ues with greater or less rapidity from puberty to 
extreme old age. When not discharged from the 
body, they are said to be absorbed. Some phys- 
iologists claim that they are composed of a sub- 
stance identical with nerve tissue, and that by 
absorption they play a very important part in 
the development and maintenance of the nerv- 
ous system. 



REPRODUCTION. 29 

When fully formed, the zoosperms are suspend- 
ed in a transparent, gelatinous fluid, which, min- 
gled with other fluids during its expulsion from 
the body, constitutes the semen. 

Ova. — The female element of generation, the 
ovum, is produced by an organ called the ovary, of 
which there are two in each individual. In size 
and form, the ovary closely resembles the testi- 
cle. Like the latter organ, also, it is formed 
within the body early in the process of develop- 
ment ; but instead of passing outward, as does 
the testicle, it remains within the abdominal cav- 
ity, suspended in place by ligaments. It is con- 
nected with a duct which receives the ovum as 
it is discharged, and conveys it to the uterus. 

The human ovum varies in size from 4 to 4 of 
an inch in diameter, and consists of a single cell. 
Ova are not formed in such large numbers as 
zoosperms. As a general rule, in the human fe- 
male, a single ovum is developed and discharged 
once in about four weeks, during the period of 
sexual activity. 

Fecundation. — It is often asked, and the ques- 
tion has elicited some discussion, Which is the 
principal reproductive element ; the zoosperm, or 
the ovum ? Probably neither one enjoys especial 
preeminence ; for neither can undergo complete 
development without the other. In very rare 
cases, the ovum has been observed to undergo a 
certain amount of development of itself ; but a 



30 SEXUAL LIFE. 

perfect individual can be produced only by the 
union of the two kinds of elements. The in- 
stant this union occurs, the life of the new indi- 
vidual begins. All the changes which result be- 
tween that moment and the birth of the individ- 
ual are those of development only. Indeed, 
the same existence continues from the instant of 
union of the two elements, not only until birth, 
but through growth, the attainment of maturity, 
the decline of life, and even until death. 

It is interesting to observe the different meth- 
ods by which fecundation is effected. 

In flowers, it is a purely mechanical process. 
The pollen of the male flower is wafted by the 
winds to the female flower, in which provision is 
made for it to impregnate the ovule. Bees, 
moths, and other insects greatly aid in this proc- 
ess by transporting the fertilizing pollen on 
their heads and legs. So important an office do 
some insects fill in this respect, that it is said 
that some species of plants are wholly dependent 
upon certain insects to effect fertilization ; thus, 
scientists tell us that the red clover would speed- 
ily become extinct but for the valuable services 
of the humble-bee. 

In some of the lower animals, as most fish and 
reptiles, both elements are discharged from the 
bodies of the parents before coming in contact. 
In the female fish, a large number of ova are de- 
veloped at a certain season of the year known 



REPRODUCTION. 31 

as the spawning season. Sometimes the number 
reaches many thousands. At the same time, the 
testicles of the male fish, which are contained 
within the abdominal cavity, become distended 
with developed zoosperms. "When the female 
seeks a place to deposit her eggs, the male closely 
follows ; and as she drops them upon the gravelly 
bottom, he discharges upon them the zoosperms 
by which they are fecundated. The process is 
analogous in some species of frogs. When the 
female is about to deposit her eggs, the male 
mounts upon her back and rides about until the 
eggs are all deposited, discharging upon them the 
fertilizing spermatozoa as they are laid by the 
female. 

With higher animals, the ova are fecundated 
in the generative passages of the female by con- 
tact between the male and female organs. To 
effect this, there are necessitated certain accessory 
organs, the penis in the male and the vagina in 
the female. 

Nothing in all the range of nature is more re- 
markable than the perfect adaptation of the two 
varieties of sexual organs in each species. This 
necessary provision is both a powerful means of 
securing the perpetuation of the species, and an 
almost impassable barrier against amalgamation. 

The act of union, or sexual congress, is called 
coitus or copulation. It ■ is accompanied by a 
peculiar nervous spasm due to excitement of 



32 SEXUAL LIFE. 

special nerves principally located in the penis in 
the male and in an extremely sensitive organ, 
the clitoris, in the female. The nervous action 
referred to is more exhausting to the system than 
any other to which it is subject. 

The zoosperms not only come in contact with 
the ovum, but penetrate the thin membrane 
which incloses its contents, and enter its interior, 
where they disappear, becoming united with its 
substance. In the ova of certain fishes, small 
openings have been observed through which the 
spermatozoa find entrance. Whether such open- 
ings exist in human ova is an undecided ques- 
tion ; but it is probable that they do. 

A peculiar kind of reproduction is observed in 
a variety of polyp, a curious animal which very 
much resembles a shrub in appearance. It at- 
taches itself to some solid object, and then, as 
it grows, sends out little protuberances resem- 
bling buds. Some of these separate and fall off, 
swimming about as separate animals. These 
never become like the parent polyp ; but they 
lay eggs, which hatch, and become stationary 
polyps like their grandparent, and in their turn 
throw off buds to form swimming polyp?. In 
this case we have two kinds of generation com- 
bined, alternating with each other. 

Plant-lice afford a curious illustration of a sim- 
ilar generation. Males and females unite and 
produce eggs. The creatures produced by the 



RE PROD VCTIOX. 33 

hatching of the eggs are neither males nor per- 
fect females. They are called imperfect females. 
They are all alike, so that no sexual union oc- 
curs. Instead of laying eggs, they produce live 
young like themselves, which appear to be devel- 
oped from internal buds similar to the external 
buds of the polyp. After this method of repro- 
duction has continued for ekdit or ten o-enera- 

o o 

tions, a few perfect individuals appear, and the 
first process is repeated. 

The common honey-bee affords another illus- 
tration like the last. A virgin queen sometimes 
lays eggs, which always produce males, or drones. 
After union with a male, she lays eggs in the 
royal cells which become perfect females like 
herself. She also seems to have the power to 
lay, at will, unfecundated eggs, from which 
drones are produced. 

It has been very aptly suggested by an emi- 
nent physiologist that the ovum and zoosperm 
may be correctly considered as internal buds. 
Thus it would appear that generation is univer- 
sally a process of budding. A child is but a 
compound bud, an offshoot from its parents. 
This idea would certainly apply to the ovum, for 
all the ova ever matured by a female existed 
from the first in her ovaries, being developed, 
one by one, and expelled from the body. 

The process of fecundation in hermaphrodite 
animals is very peculiar. In some cases, as in 

Sex. Life. 3 



34 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the snail, the union of two individuals is neces- 
sary, though each possesses both kinds of organs. 
In other cases, as in the tape-worm, a single in- 
dividual has the power to fertilize its own ova, 
thus being wholly independent. 

Prof. Wilder sums up our knowledge of the 
nature of fecundation as follows : — . 

" There can be no doubt of the following : 

" 1. That with man and the higher animals the 
contact of the two elements is essential to the 
preservation and development of the ovum. 

" 2. That the contact occasions a peculiar ac- 
tion of the ovum — segmentation — whereby it be- 
comes fit for further development. 

" 3. That the permanent physical, mental, and 
moral attributes of both parents may be, and 
generally are, implanted in these minute repro- 
ductive products, although in man the ovum is 
less than one-hundredth of an inch in diameter, 
and the zoosperms less than one four-hundredth 
of an inch in length. 

" 4. That in many cases the physical, mental, 
and moral conditions of the parents at the time of 
coition have been impressed upon the reproduc- 
tive products." 

Development of the Ovum.— As soon as the 
ovum is fertilized by the zoosperms, it begins to 
develop with great rapidity into a living creature 
of the same species as its parents. During this 
process of development, it is variously treated 



BE PROD UCTION. 



by different classes of animals. Most fishes and 
reptiles discharge the ova before fecundation, or 
soon after, and pay no further attention to them. 
The fish deposits its eggs in a little hollow 
scooped out in the gravelly bed of a stream, or 
sows them broadcast upon the waters. The tur- 
tle buries its eggs in the sand and leaves them to 
be hatched by the sun. The ostrich disposes of 
her eggs in the same way. 

But there are some exceptions to this general 
rule. Even fishes manifest a degree of parental 
solicitude in certain cases. The male of a species 
of South American fish carries the eo*o*s in his 
mouth until they are hatched. Another male 
fish carries the eggs of his mate in a little pouch 
upon the lower and posterior part of his body. 
Certain species of frogs carry their eggs wound 
about their legs ; others suspend them from the 
abdomen. Another variety carries its young 
upon its back. Prof. Wyman describes a " swamp 
toad " which patiently takes the eggs of his mate, 
one by one, and fastens them upon her back, ob- 
serving great regularity in arrangement. 

These several devices are evidently for the pur- 
pose of protecting the young individual during 
the helpless stage of its existence. Higher ani- 
mals are less prolific, and their development is a 
more complicated process ; hence, their young 
need greater protection, and, for this reason, the 
ova, instead of being discharged from the body of 



36 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the female after fecundation, are retained.* As 
we have seen that a suitable receptacle is some- 
times provided outside of the body, so now a re- 
ceptacle is needed, and is provided in the inte- 
rior of the body of the female. This receptacle 
is called the uterus. 

The Uterus. — This is a hollow, pear-shaped or- 
gan, located in the median line, just behind the 
bladder. It is supported in place by various liga- 
ments. Its larger end is directed upward, and 
communicates upon each side with a very nar- 
row tube which is prolonged outward on either 
side until it nearly touches the ovary of the 
same side. Its lower and smaller end fills the 
internal extremity of the passage previously de- 
scribed as the vagina. When' an ovum is ma- 
tured, it escapes from the ovary into the narrow 
tube referred to, called the Fallopian tube, and 
passes down into the cavity of the uterus. If 
fecundation does not occur, it is expelled or ab- 
sorbed after six to twelve or fourteen days. If 

* Curious examples of internal development sometimes oc- 
cur in animals which usually deposit eggs. Snakes have been 
known to produce both eggs and living young at the same 
time. At the annual meeting of the American Society for the 
Advancement of Science, at Detroit, Mich., in August, 1875, 
we had the pleasure of examining a specimen, exhibited by 
Prof. Wilder, of a chick which had undergone a considerable 
degree of development within the ovary of the hen. It had a 
head, a rudimentary brain, and internal viscera, but no feath- 
ers nor limbs. 



REPRODUCTION. 37 

copulation occurs, however, zoosperms are thrown 
into the cavity of the uterus, and, coming in con- 
tact with the ovum, fecundate it. This is con- 
ception, When the natural process is allowed to 
proceed, development occurs. 

Uterine Gestation. — This is the term applied 
to the process last referred to. We shall not at- 
tempt to describe in detail this most wonderful 
and intricate of all living processes ; but will 
sketch only the chief points, leaving the reader 
who would obtain a more complete knowledge of 
the subject to consult any one of the numerous 
physiological and obstetrical works which deal 
with it in a very exhaustive manner. 

As soon as the ovum is impregnated by the 
male element, it begins a process of symmetrical 
division. The first division produces two cells 
out of the single one which first existed. By 
the next division, four segments are produced ; 
then eight, sixteen, etc. While this process is 
going on, the ovum becomes adherent to the in- 
ternal Avail of the uterus, and is soon enveloped 
by its mucous membrane, which grows up about 
and incloses it. 

When the process of segmentation is complete, 
the several cells are aggregated together in a 
compact layer at the surface. Soon a straight 
line appears upon this layer, which is called the 
primitive trace. This delicate line becomes the 
basis for the spinal column; and upon it the 



38 SEXUAL LIFE. 

whole individual is developed by an intricate 
process of folding, dividing, and reduplication of 
the original layer of cells. One end of the line 
becomes the head, and the other becomes the 
tail. Even man has a caudal appendage at an 
early stage of his existence. After a further 
lapse of time, little excrescences, buds, or " pads," 
appear in the proper positions to represent the 
arms and legs. The ends of these split up into 
fingers and toes, and by the further development 
of the parts, perfect arms and legs are formed. 

It is a very remarkable fact that in the lower 
animals we have numerous examples in which 
the permanent condition of the individual is the 
same as some one of the curious stages through 
which man passes in the process of development. 
The same author previously quoted makes the 
following interesting statements : — 

"The webbed feet of the seal and ornitho- 
rhynchus typify the period when the hands and 
feet of the human embryo are as yet only partly 
subdivided into fingers and toes. Indeed, it is not 
uncommon for the ' web ' to persist to some ex- 
tent between the toes of adults ; and occasionally 
children are born with two or more fingers or 
toes united to their tips. 

"With the seal and the walrus, the limbs 
are protruded but little beyond the wrist and 
ankle. With the ordinary quadrupeds, the knee 
and elbow are visible. The cats, the lemurs, and 



REPRODUCTION. 39 

the monkeys form a series in which the limbs 
are successively freed from the trunk, and in 
the highest apes they are capable of nearly the 
same movements as the human arm and leg, which, 
in their development, passed through all these 
stages. 5 ' 

The heart is at first only a straight tube. By 
enlargement and the formation of longitudinal 
and transverse partitions, the fully developed or- 
gan is finally produced. 

The stomach and intestines are also at first but 
a simple straight tube. The stomach and large 
intestine are formed by dilatation ; and by a 
growth of the tube in length while the ends are 
confined, the , c mall intestines are formed. The 
other internal organs are successively developed 
by similar processes. 

The following condensation of a summary 
quoted by Dr. Flint, will give an idea of the size 
of the developing being at different periods, 
and the rate of progress : — 

At the end of the third week, the embryon 
is a little less than one-fourth of an inch in 
length. 

At the seventh week, it is three-fourths of an 
inch long. The liver, lungs, and other internal 
organs are partially formed. 

At the eighth week, it is about one inch in 
length. It begins to look some like a human be- 
ing, but it is impossible to determine the sex. 



40 SEXUAL LIFE. 

At the third month, the embryon has attained 
the length of two to two and one-half inches. 
Its weight is about one ounce. 

At the end of the fourth month, the embryon 
is called a foetus. It is from four to five inches 
long, and weighs five ounces. 

At the fifth month, the foetus is nearly a foot 
long, and weighs about half a pound. 

At the sixth month, the average length of the 
foetus is about thirteen inches, and its weight 
one and a half to two pounds. If born, life 
could continue a few minutes. 

At the seventh month, the foetus is from four- 
teen to fifteen inches long, and weighs two to 
three pounds. It is now viable (may live if 
born). 

At the eighth month, the length of the foetus 
is from fifteen to sixteen inches, and its weight 
from three to four pounds. 

At the ninth month, the foetus is about seven- 
teen inches long, and weighs from five to six 
pounds. 

At birth, the infant weighs a little more than 
seven pounds, the usual range being from four to 
ten pounds, though these limits are sometimes 
exceeded. 

The length of time required for the develop- 
ment of a human being is usually reckoned as 
nine calendar months, or about forty weeks. A 
more precise statement places it at about two 
hundred and seventy-eight days. 



REPRODUCTION. 41 

Uterine Life. — The uterine life of the new in- 
dividual begins with the impregnation of the 
ovum, which occurs the instant it is brought in 
contact with the zoosperms of the male. While 
in the uterus, the young life is supported wholly 
by the mother. She is obliged to provide not 
only for her own sustenance, but for the main- 
tenance of her child. And she must not only 
eat for it, but breathe for it as well, since it re- 
quires a constant and adequate supply of oxy- 
gen before birth as much as afterward. Oxy- 
gen and nutriment are both supplied to it 
through the medium of an organ called the pla- 
centa, which is a spongy growth composed al- 
most entirely of blood-vessels, and is developed 
upon the inner wall of the uterus, at the point 
at which the ovum attaches itself after fecunda- 
tion. The growing foetus is connected with this 
vascular organ by means of a sort of cable, called 
the umbilical cord. The cord is almost entirely 
composed of blood-vessels which convey the blood 
of the foetus to the placenta and return it again. 
The foetal blood does not mix with that of the 
mother, but receives oxygen and nourishment 
from it by absorption through the thin walls 
which alone separate it from the mother's blood. 

The cord is attached to the body of the child 
at the point called the navel, being cut off at 
birth by the accoucheur. With the placenta, it is 
expelled soon after the birth of the child, and con- 



42 SEXUAL LIFE. 

stitutes the shapeless mass familiarly known as the 
after-birth, by the retention of which the most 
serious trouble is occasionally caused. 

Parturition.— At the end of the period of de- 
velopment, the young being is forcibly expelled 
from the laboratory of nature in which it has 
been formed. In other words, it is born; and 
this process is termed parturition. Though, at 
first thought, such an act would seem an utter 
impossibility, yet it is a very admirable illustra- 
tion of nature's adaptation of means to ends. 
During the months of gestation, while the uterus 
has been enlarging to accommodate its daily in- 
creasing contents, the generative passages have 
also been increasing in size and becoming soft 
and distensible, so that a seeming impossibility is 
in due time accomplished without physical dam- 
age, though possibly not without intense suffer- 
ing. 

After being relieved of its contents, the uterus 
and other organs rapidly return to nearly their 
original size. 

Changes in the Child at Birth. — In the sys- 
tem of the child a wonderful change occurs at the 
moment of its expulsion into the outer world. 
For the first time, its lungs are filled with air. 
For the first time, they receive the full tide of 
blood. The whole course of the circulation is 
changed, and an entirely new process begins. It 



REPRODUCTION. 43 

is surprising in how short a space of time chan- 
ges so marvelous can be wrought. As the de- 
tail of these changes is too intricate for presenta- 
tion here, only one will be described. 

Nursing. — The process of development is not 
fully complete at birth. The young life is not 
yet prepared to support itself; hence, still fur- 
ther provision is necessary for it. It requires 
prepared food suited to its condition. This is 
provided by the mammce, or breasts, of the fe- 
male, which are glands for secreting milk. The 
fully developed gland is peculiar to the female ; 
but a few instances have been known in which 
it has been sufficiently developed to become func- 
tionally active in men, as well as in young girls, 
though it is usually inactive even in women un- 
til near the close of gestation. It is a curious 
fact that the breasts of a new-born child occa- 
sionally contain milk. 

The first product of the mammae is not the 
proper milk secretion, but is a yellowish fluid 
called colostrum. The true milk secretion begins 
two or three days after delivery. 

The lacteal secretion is influenced in a very re- 
markable manner by the mental conditions of 
the mother. By sudden emotions of grief or an- 
ger, it has been known to undergo such changes 
as to produce in the child a fit of indigestion, 
vomiting, diarrhea, and even convulsions and 
death. Any medicine taken by the mother finds 



44 SEXUAL LIFE. 

its way into the milk, and often affects the deli- 
cate system of the infant more than herself. 
This fact should be a warning to those nursing 
mothers who use stimulants. 

Anatomy of the Reproductive 
Organs. 

Having now considered the functions and 
somewhat of the structures of the principal 
organs of reproduction, we may obtain a more 
definite idea of the relation of the several or- 
gans of each class by a connected review of the 
anatomy of the parts. 

Male Organs. — As previously stated, the ex- 
ternal organs of generation in the male are the 
penis and the testicles, the latter being contained 
in a pouch called the scrotum. The penis is the 
organ of urination as well as copulation. Its 
structure is cellular, and it contains a vast num- 
ber of minute coils of blood-vessels which become 
turgid with blood under the influence of sexual 
excitement, producing distention and erection of 
the organ. A canal passes through its entire 
length, called the urethra, which conveys both 
the urine and the seminal fluid. The organ is 
protected by a loose covering of integument which 
folds over the end. This fold is called the fore- 
skin or prepuce. 

The fluid formed by each testicle is con- 



ANATOMY. 45 



veyed by the vas deferens, a curved tube about 
two feet in length, to the base of the bladder. 
Here the vas deferens joins with another duct 
which communicates with an elongated pouch, 
the vesicula seminalis, which lies close upon 
the under side of the bladder. The single tube 
thus formed, the ejacwlatory duct, conveys the 
seminal fluid to the urethra, from which it is 
discharged. 

As the production of seminal fluid is more or 
less constant in man and some animals, while its 
discharge is intermittent, the vesiculse seminales 
serve as reservoirs for the fluid, preserving it un- 
til required, or allowing it to undergo absorption. 
Some claim that the zoosperms are matured in 
these organs. They always contain seminal fluid 
after the age of puberty. During coition, their 
contents are forcibly expelled by a spasmodic 
contraction of the muscles which surround them 
and the ducts leading from them. 

Surrounding the ejaculatory ducts and their 
openings into the urethra is the prostate gland. 
In the immediate vicinity is a curious little 
pouch, the vtricuhis, which corresponds to the 
vagina and uterus in the female. Just in front 
of the prostate gland are two small bodies known 
as Cowpers glands. They secrete a fluid which 
combines with the seminal secretion. 

Female Organs. — The ovaries, uterus, ovuvmb, 
Fallopian tubes, and vagina have already been 



40 SEXUAL LIFE. 

described in part. The external organs of the 
female are included in the term vulva or pu- 
denda. The most superficial parts are the labia, 
two thick folds of integument. Just within 
these are two thinner folds, the labia minora or 
nymphce. These, together with the clitoris, situ- 
ated just above, are extrefnely sensitive organs, 
being the chief seat of sexual sense in the fe- 
male. At the lower part is the opening to the 
vagina, which in the virgin is usually partially 
guarded by a thin membrane, the hymen. This 
is not always a reliable test of virginity, how- 
ever, as commonly regarded, since it may be de- 
stroyed by disease or accident, and may exist 
even after the occurrence of pregnancy. 

The vagina extends from the vulva to the 
lower end of the uterus, which it incloses, pass- 
ing between the bladder and the rectum. The 
lower extremity of the uterus presents a small 
opening which leads into its hollow interior. 
Upon either side, at its upper and larger end, is 
a minute opening, the mouth of the Fallopian 
tube. The latter organs extend from the uterus 
outward nearly to the ovaries, toward which 
they present a number of small filaments, one of 
which is in contact with each ovary. These fila- 
ments, together with the interior of the tubes, 
are covered with a peculiar kind of cells, upon 
which are minute cilia, or hairs, in constant mo- 
tion. Very curiously, they all move in the same 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 47 

direction, toward the cavity of the uterus. When 
an ovum escapes from the ovary, it is by these 
delicate hairs propelled along a filament and 
through the tube into the uterus. It may come 
in contact with the zoosperms at any point be- 
tween the ovary and the lower orifice of the 
uterus, and thus undergo fecundation. 

Various Sexual Matters, 

Puberty.: — For a certain period after birth, the 
sexual organs remain in a partially developed 
condition. This period varies in duration with 
different animals ; in some cases being very brief, 
in others, comprising several years. Upon the 
attainment of a certain age, the individual be- 
comes sexually perfect, and is then capable of the 
generative act. This period is called puberty. 
In man, puberty commonly occurs between the 
ages of ten and fifteen years. It is a little ear- 
lier in females than in males, and is hastened 
by a tropical climate. 

The changes which occur in the two sexes at 
this period have been thus described : — 

" In both sexes, hair grows on the skin cover- 
ing the symphysis pubis, around the sexual or- 
gans, and in the axillae (armpits). In man, the 
chest and shoulders broaden, the larynx enlarges, 
and the voice becomes lower in pitch from the 
elongation of the vocal cords ; hair grows upon 



48 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the chin, upper lip, and cheeks, and often exists 
upon the general surface of the body more abun- 
dantly than in woman." The sexual organs un- 
dergo enlargement, and are more frequently ex- 
cited. The testicles first begin the secretion of 
the seminal fluid. 

" In woman, the pelvis and abdomen enlarge, 
but the whole frame remains more slender, the 
muscles and joints less prominent, the limbs more 
rounded and tapering [than in the male]. Lo- 
cally, both external and internal organs undergo 
a considerable and rapid enlargement. The 
mammae enlarge, the ovarian vesicles become di- 
lated, and there is established a periodical dis- 
charge of one or more ova, accompanied, in most 
cases, by a sanguineous fluid from the cavity of 
the uterus." 

These changes, so varied and extraordinary, 
often occur within a very short space of time ; 
and as they are liable to serious derangement, 
especially in the female, great care should be 
taken to secure for the individual the most fa- 
vorable conditions until they are successfully ef- 
fected. It is, however, a fact deserving of men- 
tion, that many of the ills which are developed 
at this particular period are quite as much the 
result of previous indiscretions and mismanage- 
ment as of any immediate cause. A few sugges- 
tions with regard to the proper treatment of 
individuals at this age may be in place. 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 49 

1. Do not allow the boy or girl to be over- 
worked, either mentally or physically. Great 
and important changes are occurring within the 
body, and nature should not be overtaxed. 

2. Keep the mind occupied. While excessive 
labor should be avoided, idleness should be as care- 
fully shunned. Some light, useful employment 
or harmless amusement — better some kind of 
work — should keep the mind constantly occupied 
with wholesome subjects. 

3. Abundant exercise out-of-doors is essential 
fqr both sexes. Sunshine and fresh air are as 
necessary to the development of a human being 
as for the expanding of a flower bud. 

4. Watch carefully the associations of the 
youth. This should be done at all times, but es- 
pecially just at the critical period in question, 
when the general physical disturbances occurring 
in the system react upon the mind and make it 
peculiarly susceptible to influences, especially 
those of an evil character. 

5. None too much care can be exercised at this 
important epoch of human life, provided it is 
properly applied ; but nothing could be more 
disastrous in its consequences than a weak solic- 
itude which panders to every whim and gratifies 
every perverted appetite. Such care is a fatal 
error. 

Menstruation. — The functional changes which 
occur in the female are much more marked than 

Sex. Life. 4r 



50 SEXUAL LIFE. 

those of the male. As already intimated, the pe- 
riodical development and discharge of an ovum 
by the female, which occurs after puberty, 
is accompanied by the discharge of a bloody 
fluid, which is known as the flowers, menses, or 
catamenia. The accompanying symptoms to- 
gether are termed the process of menstruation, 
or being unwell. This usually occurs, in the hu- 
man female, once in about four weeks. In spe- 
cial cases, the interval may be a week less or a 
week longer ; or the variation may be even 
greater. Dalton describes the process as fol- 
lows : — 

" When the expected period is about to come 
on, the female is affected by a certain degree of 
discomfort and lassitude, a sense of weight in the 
pelvis, and more or less disinclination to society. 
These symptoms are in some cases slightly pro- 
nounced, in others more troublesome. An unusual 
discharge of vaginal mucus then begins to take 
place, which soon becomes yellowish or rusty 
brown in color, from the admixture of a certain 
proportion of blood ; and by the second or third 
day, the discharge has the appearance of nearly 
pure blood. The unpleasant sensations which 
were at first manifest, then usually subside ; and 
the discharge, after continuing for a certain pe- 
riod, begins to grow more scanty. Its color 
changes from a pure red to a brownish or rusty 
tinge, until it finally disappears altogether, and 
the female returns to her ordinary condition." 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 51 

The menstrual function continues active from 
puberty to about the forty-fifth year, or during 
the period of fertility. When it finally disap- 
pears, the woman is no longer capable of bearing 
children. 

With rare exceptions, the function is suspended 
during pregnancy, and usually, also, during the 
period of nursing. 

There has been a great amount of speculation 
concerning the cause and nature of the menstrual 
process. No entirely satisfactory conclusions 
have been reached, however. It is not peculiar 
to the human female, being represented in the 
higher animals by what is familiarly termed the 
"rut." This is not usually a bloody discharge, 
however, as in the human female, though such a 
discharge has been observed in the monkey. 

It has been quite satisfactorily settled that the 
discharge of the ovum from the ovary generally 
takes place about the time of the cessation of the 
flow. Immediately after the discharge, the sex- 
ual desires of the female are more intense than 
at other times. This fact is particularly mani- 
fest in lower animals. The following remark by 
Prof. Dalton is especially significant to those who 
care to appreciate its bearing : — 

" It is a remarkable fact, in this connection, 
that the female of these [domestic] animals will 
allow the approaches of the male only during 
and immediately after the oestrual period [rut] ; 



52 SEXUAL LIFE. 



that is, just when the egg is recently discharged, 
and ready for impregnation. At other times, 
when sexual intercourse would be necessarily 
fruitless, the instinct of the animal leads her to 
avoid it ; and the concourse of the sexes is ac- 
cordingly made to correspond in time with the 
maturity of the egg and its aptitude for fecun- 
dation." 

The amount of fluid lost during the menstrual 
flow varies greatly with different individuals. It 
is estimated at from three ounces to half a pint. 
In cases of deranged function, it may be much 
greater than this. It is not all blood, however, a 
considerable portion being mucus. Is is rather 
difficult to understand why the discharge of so 
considerable a quantity of blood is required. 
There is no benefit derived from a very copious 
discharge, as some suppose. Facts seem to indi- 
cate that in general those enjoy the best health 
who lose but small quantities of blood in this 
manner. 

As the first occurrence of menstruation is a 
very critical period in the life of a female, and 
as each recurrence of the function renders her 
especially susceptible to morbid influences, and 
liable to serious derangements, a few hints re- 
specting the proper care of an individual at these 
periods may be acceptable. 

1. Avoid taking cold. To do this, it is neces- 
sary to avoid exposure ; not that a person must 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 53 

be constantly confined in a warm room, for such a 
course would be the surest way in which to in- 
crease the susceptibility to cold. Gentle exercise 
out-of-doors, at any season, and in almost any 
weather, with proper clothing, is beneficial at all 
times, and never more so than at the time in 
question. Nothing will disturb the menstrual 
process more quickly than a sudden chilling of 
the body when in a state of perspiration, or after 
confinement in a warm room, by exposure, with- 
out sufficient protection, to cold air. A daily 
bath and daily exercise in the open air are the 
best known means of preventing colds. 

2. Intense mental excitement, as well as severe 
physical labor, is to be sedulously avoided during 
this period. At the time of its first occurrence, 
special care should be observed in this direction. 
Intense study, a fit of anger, sudden grief, or even 
great merriment, will sometimes arrest the proc- 
ess prematurely. The feeling of malaise which 
usually accompanies the discharge is by nature 
intended as a warning that rest and quiet are re- 
quired ; and the hint should be followed. Ev- 
ery endeavor should be made to keep the indi- 
vidual comfortable, calm, and cheerful. Feelings 
of apprehension arising from a continual watch- 
ing of symptoms are very depressing and should 
be avoided by occupying the mind in some agree- 
able manner not demanding severe effort, either 
mental or physical. 



54 SEXUAL LIFE. 

There is no doubt that many young women 
have permanently injured their constitutions 
while at school by excessive mental taxation 
during the catamenial period, to which they 
were prompted by ambition to excel, or were 
compelled by the " cramming " system too gener- 
ally pursued in our schools, £ind particularly in 
young ladies' seminaries. It is not to be sup- 
posed, however, that the moderate amount of 
sound study required by a correct system of 
teaching would be injurious to a healthy young- 
woman at any time. 

3. A third hint, which is applicable to both 
sexes and at all times, is the necessity of attend- 
ing promptly to the demands of nature for relief 
of the bowels and bladder. School-girls are often 
very negligent in this respect ; and we have seen 
the most distressing cases of disease which were 
entirely attributable to this disregard of the 
promptings of nature. Obstinate constipation 
and chronic irritation of the bladder are common 
effects. When constipation results, purgatives 
in the shape of pills, salts, or " pleasant purgative 
pellets/' are resorted to with the certain result of 
obtaining, at most, only a temporary relief, and 
permanent damage. 

To escape these evil consequences, do this : 1. 
Establish a regular habit of relieving the bow- 
els daily at a certain hour ; 2. Discard drugs 
of every kind as the devil's potent means for ru- 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 55 

ining the bodies of humanity while sin makes 
havoc with their souls ; 3. To aid in securing a 
regular movement of the bowels, make a liberal 
use of oatmeal, wheat meal, fruit, and vegetables, 
avoiding fine-flour bread, sweetmeats, and condi- 
ments ; 4. Take daily exercise, as much as possi- 
ble short of fatigue ; if necessarily confined in- 
doors, counteract the constipating influence of 
sedentary habits by kneading and percussing the 
bowels with the hands several minutes each day; 
5. Never resist the calls of nature a single mo- 
ment if possible to avoid it. In this case, as in 
numerous others, " delay is dangerous." Ladies 
who desire a sweet breath — and what lady does 
not — should remember that retained feces are one 
of the most frequent causes of foul breath. The 
foul odors which ought to pass out through the 
bowels find their way into the blood and escape at 
the lungs. A medical man whose sense of smell 
is delicate soon learns to know a constipated per- 
son by the breath. As one says, " What is more 
offensive than the breath of a costive child ? " 

Boerhaave, a famous old Dutch physician, left 
to his heirs an elegantly bound volume in which, 
he claimed, were written all the secrets of the 
science of physic. After his death, the wonderful 
book was opened, when it was found to contain 
only the following sentence : — 

" Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the 
bowels open." 



56 SEXUAL LIFE. ' 

An old Scotch physician once gave the follow- 
ing advice to Sir Astley Cooper for the preserva- 
tion of health : — 

" Keep in the fear of the Lord, and your bow- 
els open/' 

4. Perhaps nothing tends more directly to the 
production of menstrual derangements — as well 
as uterine diseases of every sort — than fashiona- 
ble modes of dress. We have not space here to 
give to the subject the attention it deserves ; it 
will be found treated of in works devoted to the 
subject of dress exclusively. Some of the most 
glaring evils are, 

(1) Unequal distribution of clothing. The trunk, 
especially the abdomen and pelvis, is covered with 
numerous layers of clothing, an extra amount 
being caused by the overlapping of the up- 
per and lower garments. Very frequently, the 
amount of clothing upon these, the most vital 
parts, is excessive. At the same time, the limbs 
are sometimes almost in a state of nudity. A 
single cotton garment, or at most one of thin 
flannel, is the only protection afforded to the 
limbs beneath the skirts, which often serve no 
better purpose than to collect cold air and re- 
tain it in contact with the limbs. A thin stock- 
ing is the only protection for the ankles, and a 
thin shoe is the only additional covering afforded 
the feet. Under such circumstances, it is no 
wonder that a woman catches cold if she only 
steps out-of-doors on a chilly or damp day. 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 57 

(2) Another glaring fault is in the manner of 
suspending the skirts. Instead of being fastened 
to a waist or suspended so as to give them sup- 
port from the shoulders, they are hung upon the 
hips, being drawn tight at the waist to secure 
support. By this means, the organs of the pelvis 
are pressed down out of place. The uterus be- 
comes congested, and painful menstrual derange- 
ments ensue. 

(3) Tight-lacing, or compressing the waist with 
a corset, is a barbarous practice which produces 
the same results as the one last mentioned. Re- 
form in all of these particulars is an imperative 
necessity for every woman who desires to secure 
or retain sexual health. 

Extra-Uterine Pregnancy. — Sometimes the 
ovum becomes fecundated before reaching the 
uterus, and instead of passing onward into that 
organ as usual, remains in its position in the 
Fallopian tube or even on the surface of the 
ovary. Occasionally an ovum falls into the cav- 
ity of the abdomen instead of passing into the 
tube. Even in this situation it may be fecundat- 
ed. Impregnated ova thus left in abnormal 
positions, undergo a greater or lesser degree of 
development. They commonly result in the 
death of the mother. 

Twins. — The human female usually matures 
but one ovum at each menstrual period, the two 
ovaries acting alternately. Occasionally two ova 



58 SEXUAL LIFE. 

are matured at once. If fecundation occurs, the 
result will be a development of two embryos at 
the same time. In rare cases, three or even four 
ova are matured at once, and by fecundation pro- 
duce a corresponding number of embryos. In 
lower animals, the uterus is often divided into two 
long segments which afford room for the devel- 
opment of a number of young at once. Some 
ancient writers make most absurd statements 
with regard to the fecundity of females. One 
declares that the simultaneous birth of seven or 
eight infants by the same mother was an ordi- 
nary occurrence with Egyptian women ! Other 
statements still more extravagant are made by 
writers reputed to be reliable. 

Monsters. — Defects and abnormalities in the 
development of the embryon produce all degrees 
of deviation from the typical human form. Ex- 
cessive development may result in an extra fin- 
ger or toe, or in the production of some peculiar 
excrescence. Deficiency of development may 
produce all degrees of abnormality from the sim- 
ple harelip to the most frightful deficiency, as 
the absence of a limb, or even of a head. It is 
in this manner that those unfortunate individ- 
uals known as hermaphrodites are formed. An 
excessive development of some parts of the 
female generative organs gives them a great 
degree of similarity to the external organs of 
the male. A deficient development of the mas- 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 59 

culine organs renders them similar in appearance 
to those of the female. Excessive development 
shown in a peculiar manner produces both kinds 
of organs in the same individual in a state more 
or less complete. 

The uncouth shapes which are sometimes sup- 
posed to be the result of amalgamation with 
lower animals are produced in essentially the 
same manner. 

Such curious cases as the Carolina twins and 
Chang and Eng were formerly supposed to be 
the result of the union of two separate individ- 
uals. It is now believed that they are devel- 
oped from a single ovum. It has been observed 
that the primitive trace — described in a previ- 
ous section — sometimes undergoes partial divis- 
ion longitudinally. If it splits a little at the 
anterior end, the individual will have a single 
body with two heads. If a partial division oc- 
curs at each end, the resulting being will possess 
two heads and two pairs of legs joined to a sin- 
gle body. More complete division produces a 
single trunk with two heads, two pairs of arms, 
and two pairs of legs, as in the case of the Caro- 
lina twins. Still more complete division may 
result in the formation of two perfect individu- 
als almost entirely independent of each other, 
physiologically, but united by a narrow band, as 
in the remarkable Siamese twins, Chang and 
Eng. 



GO SEXUAL LIFE. 

The precise cause of these strange modifica- 
tions of development is as yet, in great degree, 
a mystery. 

Hybrids. — It is a well-known law of biology 
that no progeny result from union of animals 
of different species. Different varieties of the 
same species may in some cases form a fertile un- 
ion, the result of which is a cross between its 
two parents, possessing some of the qualities of 
each. The mule is the product of such a union 
between the horse and the ass. A curious fact 
is that the offspring of such unions are them- 
selves sterile. The reason of this is that they 
do not produce mature elements of generation. 
In the mule, the zoosperms are either entirely 
absent or else very imperfectly developed. Hence 
the fact that a colt having a mule for its sire is 
one of the rarest of curiosities, though a few in- 
stances have been reported. This is a wise law 
of nature to preserve the purity of species. 

Law of Sex. — If there is a law by which the 
sex of the developing embryon is determined, it 
certainly has not yet been discovered. The in- 
fluence of the will, the predominant vitality of 
one or the other of the parents, and the period 
at which conception occurs, have all been sup- 
posed to be the determining cause. A German 
physician some time since advanced the theory 
that the two testicles and ovaries produce ele- 
ments of different sexual character, the right 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 61 

testicle forming zoosperms capable of producing 
only males, and the right ovary producing ova 
with the same peculiarity. The left testis and 
left ovary he supposed to form the female ele- 
ments. He claimed to have proved his theory 
by experiments upon animals. Even if true, 
this theory will not be made of practical impor- 
tance. 

Heredity. — The phenomena of heredity are 
among the most interesting of biological studies. 
It is a matter of common observation that a 
child looks like its parents. It even happens 
that a child resembles an uncle or a grandparent 
more nearly than either parent. The same pecul- 
iarities are often seen in animals. 

The cause of this resemblance of offspring to 
parents and ancestors has been made a subject of 
careful study by scientific men. We shall pre- 
sent the most recent theory adopted, which, al- 
though it be but a theory, presents such an ar- 
ray of facts in its support, and explains the phe- 
nomena in question so admirably, that it must be 
regarded as something more than a plausible hy- 
pothesis. It is the conception of one of the 
most distinguished scientists of the age. The 
theory is known as the doctrine of 'pangenesis, 
and is essentially as follows : — 

It is a fact well known to physiologists that 
every part of the living body is made up of cel- 
lular elements which have the power to repro- 



62 SEXUAL LIFE. 

duce themselves in the individual, thus repairing 
the damage resulting from waste and injury. 
Each cell produces cells like itself. It is further 
known that there are found in the body numer- 
ous central points of growth. In every group of 
cells is found a central cell from which the oth- 
ers originated, and which determines the form of 
their growth. Every minute structure possesses 
such a center. A simple proof of this fact is 
found in the experiment in which the spur of a 
cock was grafted upon the ear of an ox. It 
lived in this novel situation eight years, attain- 
ing the length of nine inches, and nearly a pound 
in weight. A tooth has been made to grow up- 
on the comb of a cock in a similar manner. The 
tail of a pig survived the operation of transplant- 
ing from its proper position to the back of the 
animal, and retained its sensibility. Numerous 
other similar illustrations might be given. 

The doctrine of pangenesis supposes that these 
centers of nutrition form and throw off not only 
cells like themselves, but very minute granules, 
called gemmules, each of which is capable, under 
suitable circumstances, of developing into a cell 
like its parent. These minute granules are scat- 
tered through the system in great numbers. The 
essential organs of generation, the testicles in 
the male and the ovaries in the female, perform 
the task of collecting these gemmules and form- 
ing them into sets, each of which constitutes a 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 63 

reproductive element, and contains, in rudiment- 
ary form, a representative of every part of the 
individual, including the most minute peculiar- 
ities. Even more than this : It is supposed that 
each ovum and each zoosperm contains not only 
the gemmuies necessary to reproduce the individ- 
uals who produced them, but also a number of 
gemmuies which have been transmitted from the 
individuals' ancestors. 

If this theory be true — and we can see no sound 
objection to it — it is easy to understand all the 
problems of heredity. The gemmuies must be 
very small indeed, but it may be suggested that 
the molecules of matter are smaller still, so this 
fact is no objection to the theory. 

It will be seen, then, that each spermatozoon, 
or zoosperm, actually contains, in an embryonic 
condition, every organ and tissue of the individ- 
ual producing it. The same is true of the ovum. 
In other words, the reproductive elements are 
complete representatives, in miniature, of the 
parents, and contain all the elements for produ- 
cing an offspring possessing the same peculiarities 
as the parents. Various modifying circumstances 
sufficiently explain the dissimilarities between 
parents and children. 

This theory is strikingly confirmed by the fact, 
previously mentioned, that in certain cases a 
single reproductive element may undergo a de- 
gree of development approaching very near to 



64 SEXUAL LIFE. 

completion. It is supposed that fecundation is 
chiefly necessary to give to the gemmules the req- 
uisite amount of nourishment to insure devel- 
opment. 

As we shall see hereafter, this matter has a 
very important bearing upon several practical 
questions. 

Ante-Natal Influences, — There can be no man- 
ner of doubt that many circumstances which it 
is entirely within the power of the parents to 
supply, exert a powerful influence in molding 
both the mental and the physical characteristics of 
offspring. By carefully availing himself of the 
controlling power given him by a knowledge of 
this fact, the stock-raiser is enabled to produce 
almost any required quality in his young ani- 
mals. Pigeon fanciers show wonderful skill in 
thus producing most curious modifications in 
birds. The laws of heredity and development 
are carefully studied and applied in the produc- 
tion of superior horses, cows, dogs, and pigeons ; 
but an application of the same principles to the 
improvement of the human race is rarely thought 
of. Human beings are generated in as haphaz- 
ard and reckless a manner as weeds are sown by 
the wind. No account is taken of the possible 
influence which may be exerted upon the future 
destiny of the new being by the physical or 
mental condition of parents at the moment 
when the germ of life is planted, by the mental 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 65 

and physical conditions and surroundings of the 
mother while the young life is developing. Men 
and women are constantly prone to forget that 
the domain of law is universal. Nothing comes 
by chance. The revolutions of the planets, stud- 
ied by the aid of the telescope, and the gyrations 
of the atoms, seen only by the eye of science, 
are alike examples of the controlling influence 
of law. Notwithstanding this sad ignorance 
and disregard of this vitally important subject, 
the effects of law are only too clearly manifested 
in the crowds of wretched human beings with 
which the world is thronged. An old writer 
sagely remarks, " It is the greatest part of our 
felicity to be well born;" nevertheless, it is the 
sad misfortune of by far the greater portion of 
humanity to be deprived of this inestimable " fe- 
licity." 

Who can tell how many of the liars, thieves, 
drunkards, murderers, and prostitutes of our day 
are less responsible for their crimes against them- 
selves, against society, and against Heaven, than 
those who were instrumental in bringing them 
into the world ? Almost every village has its 
boy " who was born drunk," a staggering, simper- 
ing, idiotic representative of a drunken father, 
beastly intoxicated at the very moment when he 
should have been most sober. 

It is an established physiological fact that the 
character of offspring is influenced by the men- 

Sex. Life. 5 



66 SEXUAL LIFE. 

tal as well as the physical conditions of the par- 
ents at the moment of the performance of the 
generative act. In view of this fact, how many 
parents can regard the precocious — or even ma- 
ture — manifestations of sexual depravity in 
their children without painful smitings of con- 
science at seeing the legitimate results of their 
own voluptuousness ? By debasing the repro- 
ductive function to an act of selfish animal in- 
dulgence, they imprinted upon their children an 
almost irresistible tendency to vice. Viewing 
the matter from this stand-point, what wonder 
that licentiousness is rife! that true chastity is 
among the rarest virtues ! 

Prof. O. W. Holmes remarks on this subject, 
" There are people who think that everything 
may be done if the doctor, be he educator or 
physician, be only called in season. No doubt ; 
but in season would often be a hundred or two 
years before the child was born, and people nev- 
er send so early as that." " Each of us is only 
the footing up of a double column of figures that 
goes back to the first pair. Every unit tells, and 
some of them are plus and some minus. If the 
columns don't add up right, it is commonly be- 
cause we can't make out all of the figures." 

It cannot be doubted that the throngs of deaf, 
blind, crippled, idiotic unfortunates who were 
"born so," together with a still larger class of 
dwarfed, diseased, and constitutionally weak in- 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 67 

dividuals, are the lamentable results of the vio- 
lation of some sexual law on the part of their 
progenitors. 

If parents would stop a moment to consider 
the momentous responsibilities involved in the 
act of bringing into existence a human being ; if 
they would reflect that the qualities imparted to 
the new being will affect its character to all eter- 
nity ; if they would recall the fact that they are 
about to produce a mirror in which will be re- 
flected their own characters divested of all the 
flimsy fabrics which deceive their fellow-men, 
revealing even the secret imaginings of their 
hearts, — there would surely be far less of sin, 
disease, and misery born into the world than at 
the present day ; but we dare not hope for such 
a reform. To effect it, would require such a rev- 
olution in the customs of society, such a radi- 
cal reform in the habits and characters of indi- 
viduals, as nothing short of a temporal millen- 
nium would be able to effect. 

It is quite probable that some writers have 
greatly exaggerated the possible results which 
may be attained by proper attention to the laws 
under consideration. All cannot be equally beau- 
tiful ; every child cannot be a genius ; the influ- 
ence of six thousand years of transgression can- 
not be effaced in a single generation ; but perse- 
vering, conscientious efforts to comply with ever}' 
requirement of health, purity, morality, and the 



68 SEXUAL LIFE. 

laws of nature, will accomplish wonders in se- 
curing healthy children with good dispositions, 
brilliant intellects, and beautiful bodies. 

This is not the proper place to describe in de- 
tail a plan to be pursued ; but the few hints 
given, if rightly appreciated, may enable those 
interested in the subject to plan for themselves 
a proper course. In concluding the subject, we 
may summarize its chief points as follows, for 
the purpose of impressing them more fully upon 
the mind : — 

1. If a child is begotten in lust, its lower pas- 
sions will as certainly be abnormally developed as 
peas will produce peas, or potatoes produce pota- 
toes. If the child does not become a rake or a 
prostitute, it will be because of uncommonly 
fortunate surroundings, or a miracle of divine 
grace. But even then, what terrible struggles 
with sin and vice, with foul thoughts and lewd 
imaginations — the product of a naturally abnor- 
mal mind — must such an individual suffer ! If 
he is unsuccessful in the conflict, is he alone to 
blame ? Society, his fellow-men, will censure 
him alone ; but He who knoweth all the secrets 
of human life will pass a more lenient judgment 
on the erring one, and mete out justice where it 
most belongs. 

2. The same remarks apply with equal force 
to the transmission of other qualities. If the in- 
terest of the parents is only for self, with no 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 69 

thought for the well-being of the one whose des- 
tiny is in their hands, they can expect naught 
but a selfish character, a sordid, greedy disposi- 
tion, in the child. 

3. The influence of the father is, at the outset, 
as great as that of the mother. The unhappy or 
immoral thoughts of one alone at the critical mo- 
ment when life is imparted, may fix for eternity 
a foul blot upon a character yet unformed. 

4. If during gestation the mother is fretful, 
complaining, and exacting ; if she requires to be 
petted and waited upon ; if she gratifies every 
idle whim and indulges every depraved desire 
and perverted appetite — as thousands of mothers 
do — the result will surely be a peevish, fretful 
child that will develop into a morose and irrita- 
ble man or woman, imperious, unthankful, diso- 
bedient, willful, gluttonous, and vicious. 

If such undesirable results would be avoided, 
the following suggestions should be regarded : — 

1. For the beginning of a new life, select the 
most favorable time, which will be when the 
bodily health is at its height ; when the mind is 
free from care and anxiety ; when the heart is 
joyous, cheerful, and filled with hope, love, high 
aspirations, pure and beautiful thoughts. If, as 
one writer says, it is the duty of every human 
pair engaging in the reproductive act to bring 
into existence the most perfect specimen of the 
race of which they are capable, then it becomes 



70 SEXUAL LIFE. 

a monstrous crime to enter into relations which 
may produce a contrary result. This may be a 
truth hard to accept, but who is prepared to dis- 
pute it on logical or moral grounds ? 

2. If a child has been properly conceived, the 
duty then devolves upon the mother to secure its 
proper development. Is beauty desired, let the 
mother be surrounded with beautiful objects ; 
and let her mind dwell upon such objects. If an 
active mind and brilliant intellect are required, 
the mother should devote considerable time to 
study and mental labor of a pleasant nature. 
The moral nature should be carefully cultivated, 
to insure a lovely disposition. No angry words 
or unhappy feelings should be tolerated. Purity 
of heart and life should be maintained. The 
husband should do his part by supplying favora- 
ble surroundings, suggesting cheerful thoughts, 
and aiding mental culture. 

3. After birth, the mother still possesses a 
molding influence upon the development of her 
child through the lacteal secretion. Every moth- 
er knows how speedily the child will suffer if 
nursed when she is exhausted by physical labor 
or when suffering from nervous excitement, as 
anger or grief. These facts show the influence 
which the mental states of the mother exert up- 
on the child even when the act of nursing is the 
only physical bond between them. 

It would doubtless be a happy day for the 



VARIOUS SEXUAL MATTERS. 71 

race which should witness the recognition of the 
fact that infants, even human beings in embryo, 
possess rights which are as sacred as those of 
adult human beings. 

Circumcision. — The fold of integument called 
the prepuce, which has been previously de- 
scribed, has upon its inner surface a large num- 
ber of glands which produce a peculiar secretion. 
Under certain circumstances, and from inatten- 
tion to personal cleanliness, this secretion may 
accumulate, and then often becomes the cause of 
irritation and serious disease. To prevent such 
disorders, and to insure cleanliness, the Jewish 
law required the removal of the prepuce, which 
constituted the rite of circumcision. The same 
practice is followed by several modern nations 
dwelling in tropical climates ; and it can scarcely 
be doubted that it is a very salutary one, and has 
contributed very materially to the maintenance 
of that proverbial national health for which the 
Jews are celebrated. Eminent physicians have 
expressed the opinion that the practice would be 
a salutary one for all men. The maintenance of 
scrupulous cleanliness, by daily cleansing, is at 
least an imperative duty. 

In some countries, females are also circumcised 
by removal of the nymplue. The object is the 
same as that of circumcision in the male. The 
same evils result from inattention to local clean- 
liness, and the same measure of prevention, daily 



72 SEXUAL LIFE. 

cleansing, is necessitated by a similar secretion. 
Local cleanliness is greatly neglected by both 
sexes. Daily washing should begin with infancy 
and continue through life, and will prevent much 
disease. 

Castration. — This operation consists in the 
removal of the testes of the male. It does not 
at once obliterate the sexual sense, especially if 
performed after puberty, but of course renders 
the individual impotent, or incapable of repro- 
duction. Persons upon whom it has been per- 
formed are called eunuchs. It was a very com- 
mon custom in ancient times, being usually 
prompted by the jealousy of rulers, Mho allowed 
no males but eunuchs to associate with their 
wives and concubines. The effect upon the male 
is to render him effeminate in appearance and 
weak in mind. If performed before puberty, 
the growth of the beard is scanty, and the voice 
never acquires that deepness of tone natural to 
the masculine voice. 

An analogous operation, termed spaying, is per- 
formed upon females, consisting in the removal 
of the ovaries ; effects similar to those in the 
male, sterility without entire immediate loss of 
sexual sense, being the usual result. Spaying is 
much more rarely performed than castration. 
Both operations are now quite rare, seldom being 
resorted to except in surgical cases. Castration 
is still practiced in some Eastern countries. 



Use and Abuse, 



Just in proportion as the perpetuation of the 
•race is more important than the existence of any 
single individual, the organs of reproduction 
may be said to rank higher than any other or- 
gans of the human frame, since to them is in- 
trusted the important duty of performing that 
most marvelous of all vital processes, the pro- 
duction of living beings. That this high rank 
in the vital economy is recognized by nature, is 
shown by the fact that she has attached to the 
abuse of the generative function the most terri- 
ble penalties which can be inflicted upon a liv- 
ing being. The power of abuse seems to be al- 
most exclusively confined to man ; hence, we find 
him the only one of all living creatures subject 
to the awful penalties of sexual transgression. 

The use of the reproductive function is per- 
haps the highest physical act of which man is 
capable; its abuse is certainly one of the most 
grievous outrages against nature which it is pos- 
sible for him to perpetrate. No observing person 
can doubt that the sexual relations of men and 
women determine in a great degree their hap- 
piness or misery in life. This subject, then, de- 

73 



74 SEXUAL LIFE. 

serves due attention and careful consideration. 
It is of no use to scout it ; for it will inevitably 
obtrude itself upon us, no matter how sedulously 
we attempt to avoid it. It can be rightly con- 
sidered only with the most perfect candor, with 
the mind unbiased by passion, and prayerfully 
anxious to know and do what is right. 

There are two periods in human life when the 
sexual instincts should be totally dormant ; and 
they are so when nature is not perverted. The 
first is the period reaching from infancy to pu- 
berty. The second is the period reached in ad- 
vanced age. 

In the following paragraphs of this section are 
considered some of the evils out of which grows 
much of the sexual suffering of men and women: — 

Sexual Precocity, — If raised strictly in ac- 
cordance with natural law, children would have 
no sexual notions or feelings before the occur- 
rence of puberty. No prurient speculation about 
sexual matters would enter their heads. Until 
that period, the reproductive system should lie 
dormant in its undeveloped state. No other 
feeling should be exhibited between the sexes 
than that brotherly and sisterly affection which 
is so becoming and admirable. 

Fortunate indeed would it be for humanity if 
this natural state always existed ; but it is a lam- 
entable fact that it is rarely seen in modern 
homes. Not infrequently, evidences of sexual 



USE AND ABUSE. 75 

passion are manifested before the child has 
hardly learned to walk. It has been suggested 
that this precocity is nothing remarkable or un- 
natural, since it is often seen in little lambs and 
other young animals. To this it is only neces- 
sary to reply that the development of the sexual 
instincts perfectly corresponds with the longev- 
ity of the animal ; if short-lived, like the sheep, 
only a short period intervenes between birth and 
the attainment of the sexual appetite and viril- 
ity. If the animal is intended for long life, as 
is the case with man, these manifestations are 
delayed until a much later period, or should be. 
Certain insects perform the sexual act as soon as 
they acquire their perfect form ; but they perish 
as soon as the act is completed. 

It is astonishing how ignorant and indifferent 
the majority of people are upon this subject. A 
friend related to us an incident which fairly il- 
lustrates the terrible apathy which prevails 
among parents. While teaching a country school, 
he learned that a large number of children, boys 
and girls, of ages varying from eight to twelve 
and fourteen years, were in the habit of collecting 
together in barns and other secluded places, and 
in a state of nudity imitating the " Black Crook " 
with all possible additional nastiness. Horrified 
at such a monstrous evil, he hastened to inform 
the parents of the corruption in their midst. 
Imagine his astonishment when he was met with 



76 SEXUAL LIFE. 

an indifferent laugh and the response, " Pooh ! 
it's only natural ; perfectly harmless ; just like 
little pigs /" As though pigs were models for 
human beings ! 

It is not pleasant to consider what must have 
been the moral status of parents who could hold 
such views ; and it is no wonder that they should 
produce such children. Doubtless they learned, 
too late, that those " natural " manifestations 
were the outgrowth of incipient vices, planted 
and fostered by themselves, which in later years 
destroyed shame and gave loose rein to lust. 

Often the manifestation of sexual precocity is 
less gross, but almost equally fraught with dan- 
ger, nevertheless. Dr. Acton, a distinguished 
English surgeon whom we shall frequently quote, 
makes the following excellent remarks upon this 
subject : — 

" Slight signs are sufficient to indicate when a 
boy has this unfortunate tendency. He shows 
marked preferences. You will see him single 
out one girl, and evidently derive an unusual 
pleasure (for a boy) in her society. His penchant 
does not take the ordinary form of a boy's good 
nature, but little attentions that are generally 
reserved for a later period prove that his feeling 
is different, and sadly premature. He may be 
apparently healthy, and fond of playing with 
other boys ; still there are slight, but ominous, in- 
dications of propensities fraught with danger to 



USE AND ABUSE. 77 

himself. His play with the girl is different from 
his play with his brothers. His kindness to her 
is a little too ardent. He follows her, he does 
not know why. He fondles her with a tender- 
ness painfully suggestive of a vague dawning of * 
passion. No one can find fault with him. He 
does nothing wrong. Parents and friends are 
delighted at his gentleness and politeness, and 
not a little amused at the early flirtation. If 
they were wise, they would rather feel pro- 
found anxiety ; and he would be an unfaithful 
or unwise medical friend who* did not, if an op- 
portunity occurred, warn them that such a boy, 
unsuspicious and innocent as he is, ought to be 
caref ully watched and removed from every influ- 
ence calculated to foster his abnormal propensi- 
ties. 

" The premature development of the sexual in- 
clination is not alone repugnant to all we associate 
with the term childhood, but is also fraught with 
danger to dawning manhood. On the judicious 
treatment of a case such as has been sketched, it 
probably depends whether the dangerous pro- 
pensity shall be so kept in check as to preserve 
the boy's health and innocence, or whether one 
more shattered constitution and wounded con- 
science shall be added to the victims of sexual 
precocity and careless training. It ought not to 
be forgotten that in such cases a quasi-sexual 
power often accompanies these premature sexual 



78 SEXUAL LIFE. 

inclinations. Few, perhaps, except medical men, 
know how early in life a mere infant may expe- 
rience erections. Frequently it may be noticed 
that a little child, on being taken out of bed in 
the morning, cannot make water at once. It 
would be as well if it were recognized by parents 
and nurses that this often depends upon a more 
or less complete erection." 

We have been not more disgusted than shocked 
to see parents, whose intelligence ought to teach 
them better, not only winking at, but actually 
encouraging, these premature manifestations of 
passion in their children. They may yet learn, 
by bitter experience, the folly of their course, un- 
less they make the discovery in time to avert the 
calamitous results which threaten the future of 
their children, by careful reformatory training. 

It is important to inquire the cause of this 
precocity. Said a father of our acquaintance, 
when remonstrated with for encouraging his 
infant son in a ridiculous flirtation, " I did 
just so when I was of his age." In this case the 
cause was evident. The child was only acting- 
out the disposition bequeathed him by his parent. 
How often do the secret follies of parents stand 
out in bold relief in their children. Such a leg- 
acy is nothing to be proud of. 

We again quote from Dr. Acton some observa- 
tions on the causes of this disorder — for a grave 
disorder it is — as follows : — 



USE AKD ABUSE. 79 

" I should specify hereditary predisposition as 
by no means the least common. . . .1 be- 
lieve that, as in body and mind, so also in the 
passions, the sins of the father are frequently 
visited on the children. No man or woman, 
I am sure, can have habitually indulged the 
sexual passions . . . without, at least, run- 
ning the risk of finding that a disposition to fol- 
low a similar career has been inherited by the 
offspring. It is in this way only that we can 
explain the early and apparently almost irresist- 
ible propensity in generation after generation 
indulging similar habits and feelings." 

Another very powerful predisposing cause of 
sexual precocity will be alluded to under the head 
of " Marital Excesses." The irritation caused by 
worms in the rectum, by local irritation or un- 
cleanliness, or by irritation of the bladder, are 
exciting causes which are not infrequent. The 
latter cause is indicated by another symptom, 
the frequent wetting of the bed at night. Such 
a symptom doubly demands immediate attention. 

Modern modes of life, improper clothing, the 
forcing system of cramming in schools, the im- 
modest example of older persons, and especially 
the irritating, stimulating articles of diet which 
are daily set before children, as well as older peo- 
ple, undoubtedly have a powerful influence in 
stimulating the development of the sexual pas- 
sions. This subject is again referred to under 
the heading, " Chastity." 



80 SEXUAL LIFE. 

Obscene books and papers, lewd pictures, and 
evil communications are telling causes which 
will be further noticed elsewhere. 

Senile Sexuality.— As with childhood, old 
age is a period in which the reproductive func- 
tions are quiescent unless unnaturally stimulated. 
Sexual life begins with puberty, and, in the fe- 
male, ends at about the age of forty-five years, 
the period known as the menopause, or turn of 
life. At this period, according to the plainest 
indications of nature, all functional activity 
should cease. If this law is disregarded, disease, 
premature decay, possibly local degenerations, 
will be sure to result. Nature cannot be abused 
with impunity. 

The generative power of the male is retained 
somewhat longer than that of the female, and by 
stimulation may be indulged at quite an advanced 
age, but only at the expense of shortening life, 
and running the risk of sudden death. Says 
Parise, " One of the most important pieces of in- 
formation which a man in years can attain is ' to 
learn to become old betimes/ if he wishes to at- 
tain old age. Cicero, we are told, was asked if he 
still indulged in the pleasures of love. ' Heaven 
forbid ! ' replied he, ' I have forsworn it as I 
would a savage and a furious master.' " 

Some learned physicians place the proper limit 
of man's functional activity at fifty years, if he 
would not render himself guilty of shortening 



USE AND ABUSE. 81 

his days by sensuality. Other reasons for this 
course will appear hereafter. 

When the passions have been indulged, and 
their diminishing vigor stimulated, a horrid dis- 
ease, satyriasis, not infrequently seizes upon the 
imprudent individual and drives him to the per- 
petration of the most loathsome crimes and ex- 
cesses. Passions cultivated and encouraged by 
gratification through life will thus sometimes as- 
sert a total supremacy in old age. 

Marriage. — The scope and plan of this work 
will allow of but the briefest possible consid- 
eration of this subject upon which volumes 
have been written, much to no purpose other 
than the multiplication of books. We shall de- 
vote no space to consideration of the origin of 
the institution, its expediency, or varied relations, 
as these topics are foreign to the character of 
this work. 

The primary object of marriage was, undoubt- 
edly, the preservation of the race, though there 
are other objects which, under special circum- 
stances, may become paramount even to this. 
These latter we cannot consider, as only the re- 
lations of the reproductive functions in marriage 
come properly within our province. 

The first physiological question to be consid- 
ered is that of the mutual adaptation of the indi- 
viduals. To this question we can devote but a 

Sex. Life. 6 



82 SEXUAL LIFE. 

very brief consideration, and that will be more 
of the nature of criticism than of a set of formal 
rules for governing matrimonial alliances. 

A writer of some note, whose work on this 
and kindred subjects has had quite an extensive 
circulation, advocates with great emphasis the 
theory that parties contemplating marriage should 
in all cases select for partners individuals as 
nearly like themselves as possible. Exact dupli- 
cates would, in his opinion, make the most per- 
fect union attainable. To make his theory prac- 
ticable, he is obliged to fall back upon phrenol- 
ogy ; and directs that a man seeking a wife, or a 
woman seeking a husband, should obtain a 
phrenological chart of his head and then send it 
around until a counterpart is found. If the cir- 
cle of one's acquaintance is so fortunate as to 
contain no one cursed with the same propensities 
or idiosyncrasies as himself, the newspapers are 
to be brought into requisition as a medium of 
advertising. 

If so strange a doctrine as this were advocated 
by an obscure individual in some secluded ham- 
let, or found only in the musty volumes of some 
forgotten author, it surely would be unworthy 
of notice ; but coming as it does from a quite 
popular writer, and being coupled with a great 
amount of really valuable truth, it is sufficiently 
important to deserve refutation. A brief glance 
at the practical working of the theory will be a 
sufficient exposure of its falsity. 



USE AND ABUSE. 83 

According to this rule for contracting marriage, 
a man or woman of large combativeness should 
select a partner equally inclined to antagonism ; 
then we should have — what ? the elements of a 
happy, contented, harmonious life ? No ; instead, 
either a speedy lawsuit for divorce, or a continual 
domestic broil, the nearest approach to a mundane 
purgatory possible. The selfish, close-fisted, mi- 
serly money-catcher must marry a woman equally 
sordid and stingy. Then together they could hoard 
up for moths and rust to destroy, or for interest- 
ed relatives to quarrel over, the pictorial green- 
back and the glittering dollar, each scrimping 
the other down to the finest point above starva- 
tion and freezing, and finally dying, to be forgot- 
ten as soon as dead by their fellow-men, and sent 
among the goats at the great assizes. A shift- 
less spendthrift must choose for a helpmeet (?) an 
equally slovenly, thriftless wife. A man with a 
crotchet should select a partner with the same 
morbid fancy. A man whose whole mental com- 
position gravitates behind his ears, must find a 
mate with the same animal disposition. An in- 
dividual whose mental organization is sadly un- 
balanced, is advised to seek for a wife a woman 
with the same deficiencies and abnormalities. 

Any one can see at a glance the domestic dis- 
asters which such a plan of proceeding would 
entail. Men and women of unbalanced tempera- 
ments would become more unbalanced. An indi- 



84 SEXUAL LIFE. 

vidual of erroneous tendencies, instead of having 
the constant check of the example and admoni- 
tions of a mate of opposite tendencies, would be, 
by constant example, hastened onward in his 
sinful ways. Thus, to all but a very small pro- 
portion of humanity, the married state would be 
one of infelicity and degeneration. 

And what would be the progeny of such un- 
ions ? The peculiarities and propensities of the 
parents, instead of being modified and perhaps 
obliterated in the children by corresponding dif- 
ferences in character, would be doubly exagger- 
ated. The children of selfish parents would be 
thieves ; those of spendthrifts, beggars ; those of 
crotchety parents, monomaniacs ; those born of 
sensual parents, beastly debauchees. A few gen- 
erations of such a degenerating process would 
either exterminate the race or drive it back to 
Darwin's ancestral ape. 

It must not be inferred, from our strictures 
upon the theory mentioned, that we would advo- 
cate the opposite course ; that is, the contraction 
of marriage by individuals of wholly dissimilar 
tastes, aims, and temperaments. Such alliances 
would doubtless be quite as wretched in their re- 
sults as those of an opposite character. It is with 
this as with nearly all other subjects ; the true 
course lies between the two extremes. Parties 
who are negotiating a life partnership should be 
careful to assure themselves that there exists a 



USE AND ABUSE. 85 

sufficient degree of congeniality of temperament 
to make such close and continued association 
agreeable. 

Were we disposed to define more specifically 
the conditions necessary to secure the most har- 
monious matrimonial unions, it would be useless 
to do so ; for unions of this sort never have 
been ; and never will be — with rare excep- 
tions — formed in accordance with a prescribed 
method independent of any emotional bias. Nor 
is it probable that such a plan would result in 
remedying, in any appreciable degree, existing 
evils. 

It is a fact too patent to be ignored that a 
very large share of the unhappiness in the world 
arises from ill-mated marriages ; but it is also 
true that nearly the whole of this unhappiness 
might be averted if the parties themselves would 
endeavor to lessen the differences between them 
by mutual approximation. 

Time to Marry. — Physiology fixes with accu- 
racy the earliest period at which marriage is ad- 
missible. This period is that at which the body 
attains complete development, which is not be- 
fore twenty in the female, and twenty-four in 
the male. Even though the growth may be 
completed before these ages, ossification of the 
bones is not fully effected, so that development 
is incomplete. 

Among most modern nations, the civil laws 



86 SEXUAL LIFE. 



fixing the earliest date of marriage seem to have 
been made without any reference to physiology, 
or with the mistaken notion that puberty and 
nubility are identical. It is interesting to note 
the different ages established by different nations 
for the entrance of the married state. The de- 
generating Romans fixed the ages of legal mar- 
riage at thirteen for females, and fifteen for 
males. The Grecian legislator, Lycurgus, placed 
the ages at seventeen for the female, and thirty- 
seven for the male. Plato fixed the ages at 
twenty and thirty years. In Prussia, the respect- 
ive ages are fifteen and nineteen ; in Austria, 
sixteen and twenty ; in France, sixteen and 
eighteen, respectively. Says Mayer, "In gen- 
eral, it may be established that the normal epoch 
for marriage is the twentieth year for women 
and the twenty-fourth for men." 

A moment's consideration of the physiology 
of heredity will disclose a sufficient reason why 
marriage should be deferred until the develop- 
ment of the body is wholly complete. The mat- 
rimonial relation implies reproduction. Repro- 
duction is effected though the union of the ovum 
with the zoosperm. These elements, as we have 
already seen, are complete representatives of the 
individuals producing them, being composed — as 
supposed — of minute gemmules which are des- 
tined to be developed into cells and organs in the 
new being, each preserving its resemblance to 



USE AND ABUSE. 87 

the cell within the parent which produced it. 
The perfection of the new being, then, must be 
largely dependent on the integrity and perfec- 
tion of the sexual elements. If the body is still 
incomplete, the reproductive elements must also 
be incomplete ; and, in consequence, the progeny 
must be equally immature. 

Early Marriage. — The preceding paragraph 
contains a sufficient reason for condemning early 
marriage ; that is, marriage before the ages men- 
tioned. It is probable that even the ages of 
twenty and twenty-four are too early for those 
persons whose development is uncommonly slow. 
But there are other cogent reasons for discoun- 
tenancing early marriages, also drawn from the 
physiology of reproduction, to say nothing of 
the many reasons which might be urged on other 
grounds. 

1. During the development of the body, all its 
energies are required in perfecting the various 
tissues and organs. There is no material to be 
spared for any foreign purpose. 

2. The reproductive act is the most exhaustive 
of all vital acts. Its effect upon an undeveloped 
person is to retard growth, weaken the constitu- 
tion, and dwarf the intellect. 

3. The effects upon the female are even worse 
than those upon the male ; for, in addition to the 
exhaustion of nervous energy, she is compelled 
to endure the burdens and pains of child-bearing 



88 SEXUAL LIFE. 

when utterly unprepared for such a task, to say- 
nothing of her unfitness for the other duties of 
a mother. With so many girl-mothers in the 
land, is it any wonder that there are so many 
thousands of unfortunate individuals who never 
seem to get beyond childhood in their develop- 
ment ? Many a man at forty years is as childish 
in mind, and as immature in judgment, as a well- 
developed lad of eighteen would be. They are 
like withered fruit plucked before it was ripe > 
they can never become like the mellow and lus- 
cious fruit allowed to mature properly. They are 
unalterably molded ; and the saddest fact of all is 
that they will give to their children the same 
imperfections ; and the children will transmit 
them to another generation, and so the evil will 
go on increasing, unless checked by extinction. 

Disparity of Age. — Both nature and custom 
seem to indicate that the husband should be a 
little older than the wife. Several reasons might 
be given for this ; but we need not mention them. 
When, however, the difference of ages reaches 
such an extreme as thirty, forty, even fifty or 
more years, nature is abused, good taste is offend- 
ed, and even morality is shocked. Such ill-assort- 
ed alliances are disastrous to both parties, and 
scarcely more to one than the other. An old man 
who forms a union with a young girl scarce out 
of her teens — if indeed she is not less than 
twenty — can scarcely have any very elevated 



USE AND ABUSE. 89 

motive for his action, and he certainly exposes 
himself to the greatest risk of sudden death, 
while insuring his premature decay. A king 
once characterized such a course as " the pleas- 
antest form of suicide." It is doubtless suicidal, 
but we suspect there are some phases of such an 
unnatural union which are not very enjoyable. 

One reason of the great danger of such mar- 
riages to the old is the exhaustive effects of the 
sexual act. As previously noted, in some ani- 
mals it causes immediate death. Dr. Acton makes 
the following pertinent remarks : — 

" So serious, indeed, is the paroxysm of the 
nervous system produced by the sexual spasm, 
that its immediate effect is not always unattend- 
ed with danger, and men with weak hearts have 
died in the act. Every now and then we learn 
that men are found dead on the night of their 
wedding." 

" However exceptional these cases are, they are 
warnings, and should serve to show that an act 
which may destroy the weak should not be tam- 
pered with, even by the strong." 

" There are old men who marry young wives, 
and who pay the penalty by becoming martyrs 
to paralysis, softening of the brain, and driveling 
idiocy." 

Dr. Gardner quotes the Abbe Maury, as fol- 
lows : " I hold as certain that after fifty years of 
age a man of sense ought to renounce the pleas- 



90 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ures of love. Each time that he allows himself 
this gratification, is a pellet of earth thrown upon 
his coffin" 

Dr. Gardner further says : " Alliances of this 
sort have taken place in every epoch of human- 
ity, from the time of the patriarchs to the present 
day — alliances repugnant to nature — between 
men bordering on decrepitude and poor young 
girls, who are sacrificed by their parents for po- 
sition, or who sell themselves for gold. There is 
in these monstrous alliances something which 
we know not how to brand sufficiently energet- 
ically, in considering the reciprocal relations of 
the pair thus wrongfully united, and the lot of 
the children which may result from them. Let 
us admit, for an instant, that the marriage has 
been concluded with the full consent of the 
young girl, and that no external pressure has 
been exerted upon her will — as is generally the 
rule — it will none the less happen that reflection 
and experience will tardily bring regrets, and the 
sharper as the evil will be without remedy ; but 
if the compulsion, or what is often the same 
thing, persuasion, had been employed to obtain 
the consent which the law demands, the result 
would have been more prompt and vehement. 
From this moment the common life becomes odi- 
ous to the unhappy victim, and culpable hopes 
will arise in her desolate heart, so heavy is the 
chain she carries. In fact, the love of the old 



USE AND ABUSE. 91 

man becomes ridiculous and horrid to her, and 
we cannot sufficiently sympathize with the un- 
fortunate person whose duty [?] it is to submit 
to it. If we think of it an instant, we shall 
perceive a repulsion such as is only inspired by 

the idea of incest So what do we oft- 

enest observe ? Either the woman violently 
breaks the cursed bands, or she resigns herself to 
them ; and then she seeks to fill up the void in 
her soul by adulterous amours. Such is the som- 
ber perspective of the sacrilegious unions which 
set at defiance the most respectable instincts, the 
most noble desires, and the most legitimate hopes. 
Such, too, are the terrible chastisements reserved 
for the thoughtlessness or foolish pride of these 
dissolute grey-beards, who prodigalize the last 
breath of their life in search of depraved volupt- 
uousness." 

The parents, the perpetrators of such an out- 
rage against nature, are not the only sufferers. 
Look at the children which they bring into the 
world. Let Dr. Gardner speak again : — 

" Children, the issue of old men, are habitually 
marked by a serious and sad air spread over 
their countenances, which is manifestly very op- 
posite to the infantile expression which so de- 
lights one in the little children of the same age 
engendered under other conditions. As they 
grow up, their features take on more and more 
the senile character ; so much so that every one 



92 SEXUAL LIFE. 

remarks it, and the world regards it as a natural 
thing. The old mothers pretend that it is an 
old head on young shoulders. They predict an 
early death to these children, and the event fre- 
quently justifies the -horoscope. Our attention 
has for many years been fixed upon this point, 
and we can affirm that the greater part of the 
offspring of these connections are weak, torpid, 
lymphatic, if not scrofulous, and do not promise 
a long career." 

In old age the seminal fluid becomes greatly 
deteriorated. Even at the best, its component 
elements could only represent decrepitude and 
infirmity, degeneration and senility. In view of 
such facts, says Dr. Acton, — 

" We are, therefore, forced to the conclusion 
that the children of old men have an inferior 
chance of life ; and facts daily observed confirm 
our deductions. Look but at the progeny of such 
marriages ; what is its value ? As far as I have 
seen, it is the worst kind — spoilt childhood, fee- 
ble and precocious youth, extravagant manhood, 
early and premature death." 

Unions of an opposite character to those just 
considered, wherein a young man marries a 
woman much older than himself, are more rare 
than those of the other class. They are, perhaps, 
less deplorable in their physical effects, but still 
highly reprehensible. They are seldom prompted 
by pure motives, and can be productive of no 



USE AND ABUSE. 93 

good. Children resulting from such unions are 
notably weak, unbalanced, and sorry specimens 
of humanity. 

We have scarcely referred to the domestic mis- 
ery which may result from these disgraceful un- 
ions. If a young girl is brought home by a 
widower to preside over his grown-up daughters, 
perhaps old enough to be her mother, all the ele- 
ments are provided for such a domestic hell as 
could only be equaled by circumstances precisely 
similar. If children are born, neither father nor 
mother is fit to act the part of a parent to them. 
The father, by reason of his age, is fitful, uncer- 
tain, and childish ; to-day too lenient, to-mor- 
row too exacting. The mother is pettish, child- 
ish, indulgent, impatient, and as unskilled in 
government as unfit for motherhood. In the 
midst of all this misrule, the child grows up un- 
disciplined, uncultivated, unsubdued ; a misery to 
his parents, a disgrace to his friends, a dishonor 
to himself. 

" What shall I do Avith him ? and what will 
he do with me ? " was the question asked by a 
girl of eighteen whose parents were urging her 
to marry an old man ; and every young woman 
would do well to propound it under similar cir- 
cumstances. 



Chastity, 



" Thou shalt not commit adultery." " Whoso- 
ever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath 
committed adultery with her already in his 
heart." 

In these two scriptures we have a complete 
definition of unchastity. The seventh command- 
ment, with the Saviour's commentary upon it, 
places clearly before us the fact that chastity re- 
quires purity of thought as well as of outward 
acts. Impure thoughts . and unchaste acts are 
alike violations of the seventh commandment. 
As we shall see, also, unchastity of the mind is a 
violation of natural law as well as of moral law, 
and is visited with punishment commensurate to 
the transgression. 

It is vain for a man to suppose himself chaste 
who allows his imagination to run riot amid 
scenes of amorous associations. The man whose 
lips delight in tales of licentiousness, whose eyes 
feast upon obscene pictures, who is ever ready to 
pervert the meaning of a harmless word or act 
into uncleanness, who finds delight in reading 
vivid portrayals of acts of lewdness, — such a one 
is not a virtuous man. Though he may never 
94 



CHASTITY. 95 



have committed an overt act of unchastity, if he 
cannot pass a handsome female in the street with- 
out, in imagination, approaching the secrets of 
her person, he is but one grade above the open 
libertine, and is as truly unchaste as the veriest 
debauchee. 

Man may not see these mental adulteries, he 
may not perceive these filthy imaginings ; but 
One sees and notes them. They leave their un- 
clean scars upon the soul. They soil and mar 
the mind ; and as the record of each day of life 
is photographed upon the record books in Heav- 
en, they each appear in bold relief, in all their 
innate nastiness. 

purity ! how rare a virtue ! How rare to 
find a face which shows no trace of sensuality ! 
One turns with sadness from the thought that 
human " forms divine " have sunk so low. The 
standard of virtue is trailing in the dust. Men 
laugh at vice and sneer at purity. The bawdy 
laugh, the ribald jest, the sensual glance, the ob- 
scene song, the filthy tale, salute the eyes and 
ears at every street corner, in the horse-car, on 
the railroad train, in the bar-room, the lecture 
hall, the work-shop. In short, the works and 
signs of vice are omnipresent. 

Foul thoughts once allowed to enter the mind 
stick like the leprosy. They corrode, contami- 
nate, and infect like the pestilence ; naught but 
Almighty power can deliver from the bondage of 



96 SEXUAL LIFE, 

concupiscence a soul once infected by this foul 
blight, this moral contagion. 

Mental Uncleanness.— It is a wide-spread and 
deadly error that only outward acts are harmful ; 
that only physical transgression of the laws of 
chastity will produce disease. We have seen all 
the effects of beastly abuse result from mental 
sin alone. 

"I have traced serious affections and very 
great suffering to this cause. The cases may oc- 
cur at any period of life. We meet with them 
frequently among such as are usually called, or 
think themselves, continent young men. There 
are large classes of persons who seem to think 
that they may, without moral guilt, excite their 
own feelings or those of others by loose or libidi- 
nous conversation in society, provided such im- 
pure thoughts or acts are not followed by mas- 
turbation or fornication. I have almost daily to 
tell such persons that physically, and in a sani- 
tary point of view, they are ruining their consti- 
tutions. There are young men who almost pass 
their lives in making carnal 'acquaintances in the 
street, but just stop short of seducing girls ; there 
are others who haunt the lower classes of places 
of public amusement for the purpose of sexual 
excitement, and live, in fact, a thoroughly im- 
moral life in all respects except actually going 
home with prostitutes. When these men come 
to me, laboring under the various forms of impo- 



CHASTITY. 97 



tence, they are surprised at my suggesting to 
them the possibility of the impairment of their 
powers being dependent upon these previous vi- 
cious habits." * 

" Those lascivious day-dreams and amorous 
reveries, in which young people — and especially 
the idle and the voluptuous, and the sedentary 
and the nervous — are exceedingly apt to indulge, 
are often the sources of general debility, effemi- 
nacy, disordered functions, premature disease, 
and even premature death, without the actual 
exercise of the genital organs ! Indeed, this un- 
chastity of thought — this adultery of the mind — 
is the beginning of immeasurable evil to the hu- 
man family." -f 

Amativeness. — Certain phrenologists contend 
that the controlling center of the sexual passion 
is the cerebellum, or little brain, which is situated 
at the lower and back part of the head. They 
apparently love to dwell upon the theme, and 
ride their hobby upon all possible occasions, often 
in the most disgusting manner, and always leav- 
ing the impression that they must be themselves 
suffering from perversion of the very function of 
which they speak. 

There may be some doubt whether the func- 
tion called amativeness is located in the cerebel- 
lum at all ; at least, it is perfectly certain that 

Sex. Life. 7 * Acton. f Graham. 



OcS SEXUAL LIFE. 

aumtiveness is not the exclusive function of 
the cerebellum. " The seat of the sexual sen- 
sation is no longer supposed to be in the cerebel- 
lum generally ; but probably in its central portion, 
or some part of the medulla oblongata." * 

The cerebellum is intimately connected with 
reflex nervous action and with the nerves of or- 
ganic life. If it is largely developed, the indi- 
vidual will possess, in general, a well-developed 
physical organism and a good degree of constitu- 
tional vigor. He will have vigorous health, and 
probably strong sexual powers ; not, however, as 
a special function, but for the same reason that 
he will have a good digestion. 

To the majority of mankind, apparently, ama- 
tiveness, or sexual love, means lust. The faculty 
has been lowered and debased until it might al- 
most be considered practically synonymous with 
licentiousness. The first step toward reform 
must be a recognition of a higher and purer re- 
lation than that which centers every thought 
upon the gratification of the animal in human 
nature. If one may judge from the facts which 
now and then come to the surface in society, and 
from the most immediate effects of matrimony, 
in a large number of cases, it would appear that 
the opportunity for sensual gratification had 
come to be, in the world at large, the chief at- 
traction between the sexes. If to these observa- 

* Carpenter. 



CHASTITY. 99 



tions we add the filthy disclosures constantly 
made in police courts and scandal suits, we have 
a powerful confirmation of the opinion. Even 
ministers, who ought to be " ensamples to the 
flock," are rather " blind leaders of the blind," 
and fall into the same ditch with the rest; 

This perversion of a natural instinct, and these 
sudden lapses from virtue, which startle a small 
portion of community and afford a filthy kind of 
pleasure to the other part, are but the outgrowths 
of mental unchastity. " Filthy dreamers," before 
they are aAvare, become filthy in action. The 
thoughts mold the brain, as certainly as the 
brain molds the thoughts. Rapidly down the 
current of sensuality is swept the individual who 
yields his imagination to the contemplation of 
lascivious themes. Before he knows his danger, 
he finds himself deep in the mire of concupis- 
cence. He may preserve a fair exterior ; but de- 
ception cannot cleanse the slime from his putrid 
soul. How many a church member carries un- 
der a garb of piety a soul filled with abomina- 
tions, no human scrutiny can tell. How many 
pulpits are filled by "whited sepulchers," only 
the Judgment will disclose. 

Unchaste Conversation. — " Out of the abun- 
dance of the heart the mouth speaketh." " Ev- 
ery idle word that men shall speak, they shall give 
account thereof in the day of Judgment." " By 
thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matt. 12 : 



100 SEXUAL LIFE. 

34, 36, 37. In these three brief sentences, Christ 
presents the whole moral aspect of the subject of 
this paragraph. To any one who will ponder 
well his weighty words, no further remark is 
necessary. Let filthy talkers but consider for a 
moment what a multitude of " idle," unclean 
words are waiting for account in the final day. 
And then let them consider what a load of con- 
demnation must roll upon their guilty souls 
when strict justice is meted out to every one be- 
fore the bar of Omnipotence, and in the face of 
all the world — of all the universe. 

The almost universal habit among boys and 
young men of relating filthy stories, indulging 
in foul jokes, making indecent allusions, and 
subjecting to lewd criticism every passing female, 
is a most abominable sin. Such habits crush out 
pure thoughts ; they annihilate respect for vir- 
tue ; they make the mind a quagmire of obscen- 
ity ; they lead to open acts of lewdness. 

But boys and youths are not alone in this. 
More often than otherwise, they gain from older 
ones the phraseology of vice. And if the sin is 
loathsome in such youthful transgressors, what 
detestable enormity must characterize it in the 
old. 

And women, too, are not without their share 
in this accursed thing, this ghost of vice, which 
haunts the sewing-circle and the parlor as well 
as the club-room. They do not, of course, de- 



CHASTITY. 101 



scend to those black depths of vulgarity to which 
the coarser sex will go, but couch in finer terms 
the same foul thoughts, and hide in loose insinu- 
ations more smut than words could well express. 
Women who think themselves rare paragons of 
virtue can find no greater pleasure than in the 
discussion of the latest scandal, speculations 
about the chastity of Mrs. A. or Mr. B., and gos- 
sip about the " fall " of this man's daughter or 
the amorous adventures of that woman's son. 

Masculine purity loves to regard woman as 
chaste in mind as well as in body ; to surround 
her with conceptions of purity and impregnable 
virtue ; but the conclusion is irresistible that those 
who can gloat over others' lapses from virtue, and 
find delight in such questionable entertainments 
as the most recent case of seduction, or the new- 
est scandal, have need to purify their hearts and 
re-enforce their waning chastity. Nevertheless, a 
writer says, and perhaps truly, that " the women 
comprise about all the real virtue there is in the 
world." Certainly if they were one-half as bad 
as the masculine portion of humanity, the world 
would be twice as bad as it is. 

Causes of Unchastity. — Travelers among the 
North American Indians have been struck with 
the almost entire absence of that abandonment 
to vice which might be expected in a race unin- 
fluenced by the moral restraints of Christianity. 
When first discovered in their native wilds, they 



102 SEXUAL LIFE. 

were free from both the vices, and the consequent 
diseases, of civilization. This fact points unmis- 
takably to the conclusion that there must be 
something in the refinements and perversions of 
civilized life which is unfavorable to chastity, 
notwithstanding all the restraints which religion 
and the conventionalisms of society impose. Can 
we find such influences ? Yes ; they abound on 
every hand and leave their blight in most unwel- 
come places, o'ft unsuspected, even when the 
work of ruin is complete. 

Early Causes. — The earliest of all causes is 
hereditary predisposition. As we have shown, a 
child conceived in lust can no more be chaste by 
nature than a negro can be a Caucasian. But 
back of this there is a deeper cause, as we shall 
see, one that affects parents as well as offspring. 
Between infancy and puberty are in operation 
all those influences mentioned under " Sexual 
Precocity." 

Diet vs. Chastity. — From earliest infancy to 
impotent old age, there is a constant antagonism 
between diet and purity. Sometimes — rarely we 
hope — the helpless infant imbibes the essence of 
libidinous desires with its mother's milk, and 
thence receives upon its forming brain the stamp 
of vice. When old enough to take food in the 
ordinary way, the infant's tender organs of di- 
gestion are plied with highly seasoned viands, 



CHASTITY. 103 



stimulating sauces, animal food, sweetmeats, and 
dainty tidbits in endless variety. Soon, tea and 
coffee are added to the list. Salt, pepper, ginger, 
mustard, condiments of every sort, deteriorate his 
daily food. If, perchance, he does not die at once 
of indigestion, or with his weakened forces fall 
a speedy victim to the diseases incident to in- 
fancy, he has his digestive organs impaired for 
life at the very outset of his existence. Irritat- 
ing stimulants and condiments weaken and irri- 
tate his nerves and derange the circulation. Thus, 
indirectly, they affect the sexual system, which 
suffers through sympathy with the other organs. 
But a more direct injury is done. Flesh, condi- 
ments, eggs, tea, coffee, chocolate, and all stimu- 
lants, have a powerful influence directly upon the 
reproductive organs. They increase the local 
supply of blood ; and through nervous sympathy 
with the brain, the passions are aroused. 

Overeating, eating between meals, hasty eating, 
eating indigestible articles of food, late suppers, 
react upon the sexual organs with the utmost cer- 
tainty. Any disturbance of the digestive func- 
tion deteriorates the quality of the blood. Poor 
blood, filled with crude, unelaborated material, is 
irritating to the nervous system, and especially 
to those extremely delicate nerves which govern 
the reproductive function. Irritation provokes 
congestion ; congestion excites sexual desires ; 
excited passions increase the local disturbance ; 



104 SEXUAL LIFE. 

and thus each reacts upon the other, ever increas- 
ing the injury and the liability to future dam- 
age. 

Thus, these exciting causes continue their in- 
sidious work through youth and more mature 
years. Right under the eyes of fathers and 
mothers they work the ruin of their children, 
exciting such storms of passion as are absolutely 
uncontrollable. 

Our most profound disgust is justly excited 
when we hear of laxity of morals in a clergy- 
man. We naturally feel that one whose calling 
is to teach his fellow-men the way of truth, and 
right, and purity, should himself be free from 
taint of immorality. But when we consider how 
these ministers are fed, we cannot suppress a mo- 
mentary disposition to excuse, in some degree, 
their fault. When the minister goes out to tea, he 
is served with the richest cake, the choicest jel- 
lies, the most pungent sauces, and the finest of 
fine-flour bread-stuffs. Little does the indulgent 
hostess dream that she is ministering to the in- 
flammation of passions which may imperil the 
virtue of her own daughter, or even her own. 
Salacity once aroused, even in a minister, allows 
no room for reason or for conscience. If women 
wish to preserve the virtue of their ministers, let 
them feed them more in accordance with the 
laws of health. Ministers are not immaculate. 

The remedy for the dangers to chastity aris- 



CHASTITY. 105 



ing from this source, is pointed out in the article 
on " Continence." 

Tobacco and Vice. — Few are aware of the in- 
fluence upon morals exerted by that filthy habit, 
tobacco-using. When acquired early, it excites 
the undeveloped organs, arouses the passions, and 
in a few years converts the once chaste and pure 
youth into a veritable volcano of lust, belching 
out from its inner fires of passion torrents of 
obscenity and the sulphurous fumes of lascivious- 
ness. If long-continued, the final effect of to- 
bacco is emasculation ; but this is only the nec- 
essary consequenc| of previous super-excitation. 
The lecherous day-dreams in which smokers 
constantly indulge, are a species of fornication 
for which even a brute ought to blush, if such a 
crime were possible for a brute. The mental lib- 
ertine does not confine himself to bagnios and 
women of the town. In the foulness of his im- 
agination, he invades the sanctity of virtue wher- 
ever his erotic fancy leads him. 

We are aware that we have made a grave 
charge against tobacco, and we have not hesitat- 
ed to state the naked truth ; yet we do not 
think we have exaggerated, in the least, the per- 
nicious influence of this foul drug. As much, or 
nearly as much, might be said against the use of 
liquor, on the same grounds. 

Bad Books. — Another potent enemy of virtue 
is the obscene literature which has flooded the 



106 SEXUAL LIFE. 

land for many years. Circulated by secret agen- 
cies, these books have found their way into the 
most secluded districts. Every large school con- 
tains one or more of these emissaries of evil men 
and their Satanic master. Some idea of the enor- 
mity and extent of this evil may be gained 
from the following quotations from a published 
letter* of Mr. Anthony Comstock, who has been 
for some time employed by the Young Men's 
Christian Association in suppressing the traffic by 
arresting the publishers and destroying their 
goods : — 

" I have succeeded in unearthing this hydra- 
headed monster in part, as you will see by the 
following statement, which, in many respects, 
might be truthfully increased in quantity. These 
I have seized and destroyed : — 

" Obscene photographs, stereoscopic and other 
pictures, more than one hundred and eighty-two 
thousand; obscene books and pamphlets, more 
than five tons ; obscene letter-press in sheets, 
more than two tons ; sheets of impure songs, 
catalogues, handbills, etc., more than twenty-one 
thousand ; obscene microscopic watch and knife 
charms, and finger-rings, more than five thou- 
sand ; obscene negative plates for printing photo- 
graphs and stereoscopic views, about six hundred 
and twenty-five ; obscene engraved steel and 
copper plates, three hundred and fifty ; obscene 



* Lewis, on Chastity. 



CHASTITY. 107 



lithographic stones destroyed, twenty ; obscene 
wood-cut engravings, more than five hundred ; 
stereotype plates for printing obscene books, 
more than five tons ; obscene transparent play- 
ing-cards, nearly six thousand ; obscene and im- 
moral rubber articles, over thirty thousand ; lead 
molds for manufacturing rubber goods, twelve 
sets, or more than seven hundred pounds ; news- 
papers seized, about four thousand six hundred ; 
letters from all parts of the country ordering 
these goods, about fifteen thousand ; names of 
dealers in account-books seized, about six thou- 
sand ; lists of names in the hands of dealers, that 
are sold as merchandize to forward circulars or 
catalogues to, independent of letters and account- 
books seized, more than seven thousand ; arrest 
of dealers since Oct. 9, 1871, more than fifty." 

" These abominations are disseminated by these 
men first obtaining the names and addresses of 
scholars and students in our schools and colleges, 
and then forwarding circulars. They secure 
thousands of names in this way, either by send- 
ing for a catalogue of schools, seminaries, and 
colleges, under a pretense of sending a child to at- 
tend these places, or else by sending out a circular 
purporting to be getting up a directory of all the 
scholars and students in schools and colleges in 
the United States, or of taking the census of all 
the unmarried people, and offering to pay five 
cents per name for lists so sent. I need not say 



108 SEXUAL LIFE. 

that the money is seldom or never sent, but I do 
say that these names, together with those that 
come in reply to advertisements, are sold to oth- 
er parties ; so that when a man desires to engage 
in this nefarious business, he has only to pur- 
chase a list of these names, and then your child, 
be it son or daughter, is liable to have thrust in- 
to its hands, all unknown to you, one of these 
devilish catalogues." 

" Since the destruction of the stereotype plates 
of old books, secret circulars have been discov- 
ered of a notice to dealers that twelve new books 
are in course of preparation, and will soon be 
ready for delivery." 

Says Hon. C. L. Merriam, as quoted by Dr. 
Lewis, " We find that the dealers in obscene lit- 
erature have organized circulating libraries, which 
are under the charge of the most vicious boys in 
the schools, boys chosen and paid by the venders, 
and who circulate among the students, at ten 
cents a volume, any of the one hundred and 
forty-four obscene books heretofore published in 
New York City." 

Through the influence of Mr. ComstocS:, laws 
have been enacted which promise to do much to- 
ward checking this extensive evil, or at least 
causing it to make itself less prominent. Our 
newspapers still abound with advertisements 
of various so-called medical works, " Marriage 
Guides," etc., which are fruits of the same " upas- 



CHASTITY, 109 



tree " that Mr. Comstock has toiled so faithfully 
to uproot. 

It is a painful fact, however, that the total an- 
nihilation of every foul book which the law can 
reach will not effect the cure of this evil ; for our 
modern literature is full of the same virus. It is 
necessarily presented in less grossly revolting 
forms, half concealed by beautiful imagery, or 
embellished by wit ; but yet, there it is, and no 
law can reach it. The works of our standard 
authors in literature abound in lubricity. Popu- 
lar novels have doubtless done more to arouse a 
prurient curiosity in the young, and to excite and 
foster passion and immorality, than even the ob- 
scene literature so bravely warred against by Mr. 
Comstock. The more exquisitely painted the 
scenes of vice, the more dangerously enticing. 
Novel-reading has led thousands to lives of dis- 
soluteness. 

Idleness.— -This evil is usually combined with 
the preceding. To maintain purity, the mind 
must be occupied. If left without occupation, the 
vacuity is quickly filled with unchaste thoughts. 
Nothing can be worse for a child than to be 
reared in idleness. His morals will be certain to 
suffer. Incessant mental occupation is the only 
safe-guard against unchastity. Those worth- 
less fops who spend their lives in " killing time " 
by lounging about bar-rooms, loafing on street 
corners, or strutting up and down the boulevard, 



110 SEXUAL LIFE. 

are anything but chaste. Those equally worth- 
less young women who waste their lives on sofas 
or in easy-chairs, occupied only with some silly 
novel, or idling away life's precious hours in rev- 
erie — such creatures are seldom the models of 
purity one would wish to think them. If born 
with a natural propensity toward sin, such a life 
would soon engender a diseased, impure imagina- 
tion, if nothing worse. 

Dress and Sensuality. — There are two ways 
in which fashionable dress leads to breach of 
chastity; viz., 1. By its extravagance; 2. By its 
abuse of the body. 

How does extravagance lead to unchastity ? 
By creating the temptation to sin. It affects not 
those gorgeously attired ladies who ride in fine 
carriages, and live in brown-stone fronts, who are 
surrounded with all the luxuries that wealth can 
purchase, — fine apparel is no temptation to such. 
But to less favored — though not less worthy — 
ones, these magnificent displays of millinery goods 
and fine trappings are a most powerful tempt- 
er. The poor seamstress, who can earn by dili- 
gent toil hardly enough to pay her board bill, has 
no legitimate way by which to deck herself with 
the finery she admires. Plainly dressed as she 
must be if she remains honest and retains her 
virtue, she is scornfully ignored by her proud sis- 
ters. Everywhere she finds it a generally recog- 
nized fact that " dress makes the lady." On the 



CHASTITY. Ill 



street, no one steps aside to let her pass, no one 
stoops to regain for her the package that slips 
from her weary hands. Does she enter a crowd- 
ed car, no one offers her a seat, though she is 
trembling with fatigue, while the showily dressed 
woman who follows her is accommodated at 
once. She marks the difference ; she does not 
pause to count the cost, but barters away her 
self-respect, to gain the respect, or deference, of 
strangers. 

It has been authoritatively stated that there 
are, in our large cities, hundreds of young women 
who, being able to earn barely enough to buy food 
and fuel and pay the rent of a dismal attic, take 
the advice offered by their employers, " Get 
some gentleman friend to dress you for your 
company." Others spend all their small earnings 
to keep themselves " respectably " dressed, and 
share the board and lodgings of some young 
roue as heartless as incontinent. People unac- 
customed to city life, and thousands of people in 
the very heart of our great metropolis, have no 
conception of the frightful prevalence of this 
kind of prostitution. Young women go to our 
large cities as pure as snow. They find no lu- 
crative employment. Daily contact with vice 
obtunds their first abhorrence of it. Gradually it 
grows familiar. A fancied life of ease presents 
allurements to a hard- worked sewing-girl. Fine 
clothes and comfortable lodgings increase the 



112 SEXUAL LIFE, 

temptation. She yields, and barters her body 
for a home without the trouble of a marriage 
ceremony. 

Wealthy women could do more to cure the 
" social evil " by adopting plain attire than all 
the civil authorities by passing license laws or 
regulating ordinances. Have not Christian wom- 
en a duty in this direction ? A few years ago, 
some Nashville ladies made a slight move in 
the right direction, as indicated in the following 
paragraph ; but we have not heard that their ex- 
ample has been followed : — 

" The lady members of the First Baptist 
Church, of Nashville, Tenn., have agreed that 
they will dispense with all finery on Sunday, 
wearing no jewels but consistency, and hereafter 
appear at church in plain calico dresses." 

A more radical reform would have been an ex- 
tension of the salutary measure to all other days 
of the week as well as Sunday ; though we see 
no reason for restricting the material of cloth- 
ing to calico, which might, indeed, be rather in- 
sufficient for some seasons of the year. 

Let us glance at the second manner in which 
dress lends its influence to vice, by obstructing 
the normal functions of the body. 1. Fashion 
requires a woman to compress her waist with 
bands or corsets. In consequence, the circulation 
of the blood toward the heart is obstructed. The 
venous blood is crowded back into the delicate 



CHASTITY. 113 



organs of generation. Congestion ensues, and 
with it, through reflex action, the unnatural ex- 
citement of the animal propensities. 2. The 
manner of wearing the clothing, suspending sep- 
arate heavy garments from the hips, increases 
the same difficulty by bringing too large a share 
of clothing where it is least needed, thus gener- 
ating unnatural local heat. 3. The custom of 
clothing the feet and limbs so thinly that they 
are exposed to constant chilling, by still further 
unbalancing the circulation, adds another ele- 
ment to increase the local mischief. 

All of these causes combined, operating almost 
constantly — with others that might be mentioned 
—produce permanent local congestions, with ova- 
rian and uterine derangements. The latter af- 
fections have long been recognized as the chief 
pathological condition in hysteria, and especially 
in that peculiar form of disease known as nym- 
phomania, under the excitement of which a 
young woman, naturally chaste and modest, may 
be impelled to the commission of the most wan- 
ton acts. The pernicious influence of fashiona- 
ble dress in occasioning this disorder cannot be 
doubted. 

The remedy for these evils, the only way to 
escape them, is reformation. The dress must be 
so adjusted to the body that every organ will be 
allowed free movement. No corset, band, belt, 
or other means of constriction, should impede 

Sex. Life. 8 



114 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the circulation. Garments should be suspended 
from the shoulders by means of a waist, or proper 
suspenders. The limbs should be as warmly 
clad as any other portion of the body. How 
best to secure these requirements of health may 
be learned from several excellent works on dress 
reform now extant. * 

Physical Causes of Unchastity. — Some of the 
physical causes of impurity in women have been 
just referred to, since it is through physical inju- 
ries that unhealthful clothing exerts its influence. 
Too little is generally known of the intimate con- 
nection between physical and mental conditions. 
Doubtless, many vices originate in physical im- 
perfections. Indeed, when the full bearing of 
physical influences upon the mind is allowed, it 
is difficult to avoid pleading extenuating circum- 
stances in the cases of the greatest share of trans- 
gressors of both moral and civil laws. This prin- 
ciple is especially applicable to sexual relations. 

In males, one of the most general physical 
causes of sexual excitement is constipation. The 
vesicula seminalis, in which the seminal fluid is 
stored, is situated, as will be remembered, at the 
base of the bladder. It thus has the bladder in 
front, and the rectum behind. In constipation, 
the rectum becomes distended with feces, effete 

* " The Evils of Fashionable Dress, and How to Dress Health- 
fully," published at the Office of the Health Reformer, Battle 
Creek, Mich., is the most recent work on this subject. 



CHASTITY. 115 



matter which should have been promptly evacu- 
ated instead of being allowed to accumulate. 
This hardened mass presses upon the parts 
most intimately concerned in the sexual act, 
causing excessive local excitement. When this 
condition is chronic, as in habitual constipation, 
the unnatural excitement often leads to most se- 
rious results. One of these is the production of 
a horrible disease, satyriasis, the nature of which 
has been previously indicated. 

Constipation in females has the same tendency, 
though the dangers are not quite so great. The 
irritation is sufficient, however, to lead to excite- 
ment of the passions. 

Intestinal worms often produce the same re- 
sult in children. 

Local uncleanliness is another very frequent 
cause which is very often overlooked. The nat- 
ural local secretions quickly become a source of 
great irritation if not removed by daily washing. 
Certain anatomical peculiarities sometimes exist 
in the male which greatly aggravate this difficulty, 
and for which circumcision, or an equivalent op- 
eration, is the remedy. 

Irritation of the bladder, producing inconti- 
nence of urine, is another enemy to chastity. It 
should receive prompt attention and treatment. 
In children, this irritability is indicated by wet- 
ting of the bed at night. In cases of this kind 
allow the child little drink in the latter portion 



116 SEXUAL LIFE. 

of the day. See that the bladder is emptied just 
before he goes to bed. Wake him once or twice 
during the night, and have him urinate. Use all 
possible means to remove the cause of irritation 
by giving him plenty of out-of-door exercise and 
a very simple, though nutritious, diet. Avoid 
meat, eggs, and condiments. 

Modern Modes of Life. — Aside from all of 
the causes already enumerated, there are many 
other conditions and circumstances, the result of 
modern habits of living, that tend directly to- 
ward the excitement of sensuality. Superheated 
rooms, sedentary employments, the development 
of the mental and nervous organizations at the 
expense of the muscular, the cramming system 
in schools, too long confinement of school-chil- 
dren in a sitting position, the allowance of too 
great freedom between the sexes in the young, 
the demoralizing influence of most varieties of 
public amusement, balls, church fairs, and other 
like influences too numerous to mention, all tend 
in the one direction, that of abnormal excitation 
and precocious development of the sexual func- 
tions. 

It is not an exaggeration to say that for one 
conforming to modern modes of living, eating, 
sleeping, and drinking, absolute chastity is an 
absolute impossibility. This would certainly be 
true without a special interposition of Provi- 
dence ; but Providence never works miracles to 
obviate the results of voluntary sin. 



Continence, 



Continence differs from chastity in being en- 
tire restraint from sexual indulgence under all 
circumstances, while chastitv is only restraint 
from unlawful indulgence. As we have both 
physical and mental chastity, so continence 
should be both mental and physical. Many of 
the observations on the subject of " Chastity" ap- 
ply with equal force to continence. The causes 
of incontinence are the same as those of unchas- 
tity. The same relation also exists between 
mental and physical continence as between men- 
tal and physical chastity. 

The subject of continence evidently has a 
somewhat wider scope than that of chastity, as 
generally understood ; but as we have considered 
the latter subject so fully, we shall devote less 
space to this, leaving the reader to make the ap- 
plication of such preceding remarks as reason 
may suggest to him are equally appropriate 
here. 

Without stopping to consider the various cir- 
cumstances under which absolute continence is 
expedient, or desirable, or morally required, we 
will proceed at once to examine the question, Is 

continence healthful ? 

117 



118 SEXUAL LIFE. 



Continence not Injurious. — It has been 
claimed by many, even by physicians — and with 
considerable show of reason — that absolute con- 
tinence, after full development of the organs of 
reproduction, could not be maintained without 
great detriment to health. It is needless to 
enumerate all the different arguments employed 
to support this position, since they are, with a 
few exceptions, too frivolous to deserve atten- 
tion. We shall content ourselves chiefly with 
quotations from acknowledged authorities ; by 
which we shall show that the popular notions 
upon this subject are wholly erroneous. Their 
general acceptance has been due, without doubt, 
to the strong natural bias in their favor. It is 
an easy matter to believe what agrees well with 
one's predilections. A bare surmise, on the side 
of prejudice, is more telling than the most pow- 
erful logic on the other side. 

" We know that this opinion is held by men of 
the world, and that many physicians share it. 
This belief appears to us to be erroneous, without 
foundation, and easily refuted." * 

The same writer claims " that no peculiar dis- 
ease nor any abridgment of the duration of life 
can be ascribed to such continence." He proves 
his position by appealing to statistics, and shows 
the fallacy of arguments in support of the con- 
trary view. He further says : — 

* Mayer. 



CONTINENCE. 119 



" It is determined, in our opinion, that the com- 
merce of the sexes has no necessities that can- 
not be restrained without peril." 

" A part has been assigned to spermatic pleth- 
ora in the etiology of various mental affections. 
Among others, priapism has been attributed to 
it. In our opinion, this malady originates in a 
disturbance of the cerebral nerve power ; but it 
is due much less to the retention of sperm than 
to its exaggerated loss ; much less to virtuous ab- 
stinence than to moral depravity." 

There has evidently been a wide-spread decep- 
tion upon this subject. " Health does not abso- 
lutely require that there should ever be an emis- 
sion of semen, from puberty to death, though the 
individual live a hundred years ; and the fre- 
quency of involuntary nocturnal emissions is an 
indubitable proof that the parts, at least, are suf- 
fering under a debility and morbid irritability 
utterly incompatible with the general welfare of 
the system ; and the mental faculties are always 
debilitated and impaired by such indulgence." 

It has been declared that strict continence 
would result in impotence. The falsity of this 
argument is clearly shown by the following ob- 
servations : — 

" There exists no greater error than this, nor 
one more opposed to physiological truth. In the 
first place, I may state that I have, after many 
years' experience, never seen a single instance of 



120 SEXUAL LIFE. 

atrophy of the generative organs from this cause. 
I have, it is true, met the complaint, but in what 
class of cases does it occur ? It arises, in all in- 
stances, from the exactly opposite cause, abuse ; 
the organs become worn out, and hence arises 
atrophy. Physiologically considered, it is not a 
fact that the power of secreting semen is annihi- 
lated in well-formed adults leading a healthy life 
and yet remaining continent. No continent 
man need be deterred by this apocryphal fear of 
atrophy of the testes from living a chaste life. 
It is a device of the unchaste — a lame excuse for 
their own incontinence, unfounded on any phys- 
iological law."* 

The truth of this statement has been amply 
confirmed by experiments upon animals. 

The complaint is made by those whose lives 
have been far otherwise than continent, that ab- 
stinence occasions suffering, from which indul- 
gence gives relief. The same writer further 
says that when such a patient consults a med- 
ical man, "he should be told — and the result 
would soon prove the correctness of the advice 
— that attention to diet, gymnastic exercise, and 
self-control, will most effectually relieve the 
symptoms." 

" If any one wished to undergo the acutest 
sexual suffering, he could adopt no more certain 
method than to be incontinent, with the inten- 

* Acton. 



CONTINENCE. 121 

tion of becoming continent again, when he had 
'sown his wild oats.' The agony of breaking 
off a habit which so rapidly entwines itself with 
every fiber of the human frame is such that it 
would not be too much to say to any young man 
commencing a career of vice, ' You are going a 
way on which you will never turn back. How- 
ever much you may wish it, the struggle will be 
too much for you. You had better stop now. 
It is your last chance.' " 

Difficulty of Continence. — Some there are 
who urge that self-denial is difficult ; that the 
natural promptings are imperious. From this 
they argue that it cannot but be right to gratify 
so strong a passion. " The admitted fact that 
continence, even at the very beginning of man- 
hood, is frequently productive of distress, is oft- 
en a struggle hard to be borne — still harder to 
be completely victorious in — is not to be at all 
regarded as an argument that it is an evil!' 

" Granted that continence is a trial , a sore 
trial, a bitter trial, if you will, what, I would 
ask, is the object of a trial but to try, to test, to 
elicit, to strengthen and brace, whatever of ster- 
ling, whatever of valuable, there is in the thing 
tried ? To yield at once — is this the right way 
to meet a trial ? To lay down one's arms at the 
first threatening of conflict, is this a creditable 
escape from trial, to say no more ?" * 

* Acton. 



122 SEXUAL LIFE. 

But if rigid continence is maintained from the 
first, the struggle with the passions will not be 
nearly so severe as after they have once been al- 
lowed to gain the ascendency. On this point, 
the following remarks are very just : — 

" At the outset, the sexual necessities are not 
so uncontrolled as is generally supposed, and they 
can be put down by the exercise of a little ener- 
getic will. There is, therefore, as it appears to 
us, as much injustice in accusing nature of disor- 
ders which are dependent upon the genital senses, 
badly directed, as there would be in attributing 
to it a sprain or a fracture accidentally pro- 
duced."* 

Helps to Continence. — As already indicated, 
and as every individual with strong passions 
knows, the warfare with passion is a serious one 
if one determines to lead a continent life. He 
needs the help of every aid that he can gain. 
Some of these may be named as follows : — 

The Will. — A firm determination must be 
formed to lead a life of purity ; to quickly quench 
the first suggestions of impurity ; to harbor no 
unchaste desire ; to purge the mind of carnal 
thoughts ; in short, to cleave fast to mental con- 
tinence. Each triumph over vicious thoughts 
will strengthen virtue ; each victory won will 
make the next the easier. So strong a habit of 

* Mayer. 



GONTINENCE. 123 

continence may be formed that this alone will be 
a bulwark against vice. 

Diet — He who would keep in subjection his 
animal nature must carefully guard the portal to 
his stomach. The blood is made of what is eat- 
en. Irritating food will produce irritating blood. 
Stimulating foods or drinks will surely produce 
a corresponding quality of blood. Irritating, 
stimulating blood will irritate and stimulate 
the nervous system, and especially the delicate 
nerves of the reproductive system, as previ- 
ously explained. Only the most simple and 
wholesome food should be eaten, and that only 
in such moderate quantities as are required to 
replenish the tissues. The custom of making 
food pungent and stimulating with condiments 
is the great, almost the sole, cause of gluttony. 
It is one of the greatest hindrances to virtue. 
Indeed, it may with truth be said that the de- 
vices of modern cookery are the most powerful 
allies of unchastity and licentiousness. In the 
concluding section of this work will be found 
ample directions for the preparation of a health- 
ful, natural, and chaste dietary, with further re- 
marks upon the injurious properties of specific 
articles of food. This subject is particularly de- 
serving of careful, candid, and studious attention, 
and only needs such investigation to demonstrate 
its soundness. 

Exercise. — Next to diet as an aid to conti- 



124 SEXUAL LIFE. 

nence, perhaps of equal importance with it, is 
exercise, both physical and mental. It is & trite 
proverb, the truth of which every one ac- 
knowledges, that " Satan finds some mischief 
still for idle hands to do," and it is equally true 
that he always has an evil thought in readiness 
— speaking figuratively — to instill into an unoc- 
cupied mind. A person who desires to be pure 
and continent in body and mind must flee 
idleness as he would the devil himself ; for the 
latter is always ready to improve upon the ad- 
vantages afforded by an idle moment, an hour 
given to reverie. 

We have the strongest testimony from the 
most eminent physicians in regard to the efficacy 
of exercise in overcoming abnormal sexual de- 
sires. Mr. Acton relates the following statement 
made to him by a gentleman who has become 
distinguished in his profession : — 

" ' You may be surprised, Mr. Acton/ said he, 
' by the statement I am about to make to you, 
that before my marriage I lived a perfectly con- 
tinent life. During my university career, my 
passions were very strong, sometimes almost un- 
controllable, but I have the satisfaction to think 
that I mastered them ; it was, however, by great 
efforts. I obliged myself to take violent phys- 
ical exertion ; I was the best oar of my year, and 
when I felt particularly strong sexual desire, I 
sallied out to take my exercise. I was victorious 



0*0 XTIXE NCE. 125 

always, and I never committed fornication. You 
see in what vigorous health I am ; it was exer- 
cise alone that saved me.' " 

Says Carpenter, on the same subject, in a text- 
book for medical students, " ' Try the effect of 
close mental application to some of those enno- 
bling pursuits to which your profession intro- 
duces you, in combination with vigorous bodily 
exercise, before you assert that the appetite is 
unrestrainable, and act upon that assertion.' 
Nothing tends so much to increase the desire, as 
the continual direction of the mind toward the 
object of its gratification, especially under the 
favoring influence of sedentary habits ; whilst 
nothing so effectually represses it as the deter- 
minate exercise of the mental faculties upon 
other subjects, and the expenditure of nervous 
energy in other channels." 

" We cannot impute to nature the unhappy 
results of continence, any more than the indiges- 
tion of the glutton who unreasonably overloads 
his stomach. The methods by which man, con- 
sidered in both sexes, can diminish his venereal 
needs, consist in the diversion which he gives to 
his fancies by devoting himself to manual labor 
or the culture of the sciences ; in the privation 
which he imposes upon himself — when sexual 
exigencies are especially pressing — in all that 
would tend to increase the excitability of the 
nervous system, as animal food, condiments, al- 
coholic drinks, coffee, etc." 



126 SEXUAL LIFE. 

" A medical casuist, well known by his scien- 
tific works, proposes the following means as op- 
posed to dishonest (unchaste) thoughts : — 

" ' If thoughts of this kind, becoming too im- 
portunate, are the product of a light and unset- 
tled imagination, when certain souvenirs livingly 
retrace themselves in the memory, we should 
endeavor to divert the mind by forcing the 
thoughts into some intellectual, serious labor, 
requiring application, or by a difficult and com- 
plicated calculation requiring all the attention. 
If the bad thoughts proceed from an erotic tem- 
perament or a spermatic plethora, the best meth- 
ods will be those taken from general, physical, 
and moral hygiene ; the practice of temperance 
or exact sobriety, manual labor, corporeal exer- 
cise, an incessant material or mechanical occupa- 
tion, fatigue, .... which in certain cases 
[most cases] produce the best and even the most 

astonishing results Violent exercise 

destroys the erotic sentiment by giving birth to 
sentiments [sensations] still more imperious, as 
excessive hunger, and an irresistible propensity 
to physical repose.' " * 

Walking, riding, rowing, and gymnastics are 
among the best modes of physical exercise for 
sedentary persons; but there is no better form 
of exercise than working in the garden. The 
cultivation of small fruits, flowers, and other oc- 

* Mayer. 



CONTINENCE. 127 

cupations of like character, really excel all other 
modes of physical exercise for one who can engage 
in them with real pleasure. Even though dis- 
tasteful at first, they may become very attractive 
and interesting if there is an honest, persevering 
desire to make them so. The advantages of ex- 
ercise of this kind are evident. 1. They are use- 
ful as well as healthful. While they call into 
action a very large number of muscles by the 
varied movements required, the expenditure 
of vital force is remunerated by the actual 
value of the products of the labor ; so that no 
force is wasted. 2. The tillage of the soil, and 
the dressing of vines and plants, bring one in 
constant contact with nature in a manner that 
is elevating and refining, or at least affords 
the most favorable opportunities for the cultiva- 
tion of nobility and purity of mind, and elevated 
principles. 

Exercise carried to such excess as to produce 
exhaustion is always injurious. The same is true 
of mental labor as of physical exercise. Plenty 
of sleep, and regular habits of retiring and rising, 
are important. Dozing is bad at any time ; for 
it is a condition in which the will is nearly dor- 
mant, though consciousness still lingers, and the 
imagination is allowed to run wild, and often 
enough it will run where it ought not. Late 
study, or late hours spent in any manner, is a 
sure means of producing general nervous irrita- 



128 SEXUAL LIFE. 



bility, and sexual excitement through reflex in- 
fluence. 

Bathing. — A daily bath with cool or tepid wa- 
ter, followed by vigorous rubbing of the skin 
with a coarse towel and then with the dry 
hand, is a most valuable aid. The hour of first 
rising is generally the most convenient time. 
How to take different kinds of baths is explained 
in a subsequent section wholly devoted to the 
subject. General and local cleanliness are indis- 
pensable to general and local health. 

Religion. — After availing himself of all other 
aids to continence, if he wishes to maintain pu- 
rity of mind as well as physical chastity — and 
one cannot exist long without the other — the in- 
dividual must seek that most powerful and help- 
ful of all aids, divine grace. If, in the conflict with 
his animal nature, man had only to contend with 
the degrading influences of his own propensities, 
the battle would be a serious one, and it is doubt- 
ful whether human nature, alone — at least in 
any but rare cases — would be able to gain the 
victory ; but, in addition to his own inherent 
tendencies to evil, man is assailed at every point 
by unseen agencies that seek to drag him down 
and spoil his soul with lust. These fiendish in- 
fluences are only felt, not seen, from which some 
argue that they do not exist. Such casuists 
must find enormous depths for human depravity. 
But who has not felt the cruel power of these 



CONTINENCE. 129 

unseen foes ? Against them, there is but one 
safe, successful weapon, "the blood of Christ 
which cleanseth from all sin." 

The struggling soul, beset with evil thoughts, 
will find in prayer a salvation which all his 
force of will, and dieting, and exercising, will 
not, alone, insure him. Yet prayer alone will 
not avail. Faith and works must always be as- 
sociated. All that one can do, to work out his 
own salvation, he must do ; then he can safely 
trust in God to do the rest, even though the 
struggle seems almost a useless one ; for when 
the soul has been long in bondage to concupis- 
cence, the mind a hold of foul and lustful 
thoughts, a panorama of unchaste imagery, these 
hateful phantoms will even intrude themselves 
upon the sanctity of prayer and make their vic- 
tim mentally unchaste upon his knees. But 
Christ can pity even such ; and even these de- 
graded minds may yet be pure if with the psalm- 
ist they continue to cry, with a true purpose 
and unwavering trust, " Create in me a clean 
heart, God, and renew a right spirit within me." 
" Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; 
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." 

At the first suggestion of an evil thought, send 
up a mental prayer to Him whose ear is always 
open. Prayer and impurity are as incompatible 
as oil and water. The pure thoughts that sin- 
cere prayer will bring, displace the evil prompt- 

Sex. Life. 9 



130 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ings of excited passion. But the desire for aid 
must be sincere. Prayer will be of no avail 
while the mind is half consenting to the evil 
thought. The evil must be loathed, spurned, 
detested. 

It would seem almost unnecessary to suggest 
the impropriety of resorting to prayer alone 
when the sexual excitability has arisen from a 
culpable neglect to relieve the bowels. Such 
physical causes must be well looked after, or ev- 
ery attempt to reform will be fruitless. God re- 
quires of every individual to do for himself all 
that he is capable of doing; to employ every 
available means for alleviating his condition. 



Marital Excesses. 



It seems to be a generally prevalent opinion 
that the marriage ceremony removes all restraint 
from the exercise of the sexual functions. Few 
seem to even suspect that the seventh command- 
ment has any bearing upon sexual conduct with- 
in the pale of matrimony. Yet if we may believe 
the confessions and statements of men and wom- 
en, legalized prostitution is a more common crime 
than illict commerce of the sexes. So common 
is the popular error upon this subject, and so 
strongly fortified by prejudice is it, that it is ab- 
solutely dangerous for a writer or speaker to ex- 
press the truth, if he knows it and has a disposi- 
tion to do so. Any attempt to call attention to 
true principles is mocked at, decried, stigmatized, 
and, if possible, extinguished. The author is 
vilified, and his work is denounced, and relegated 
to the ragman. Extremist, fanatic, ascetic, are 
the mildest terms employed concerning him, and 
he escapes with rare good fortune if his chastity 
or virility is not assailed. 

We are not going to run any such risks — being 
too cowardly, perhaps — and so shall not attempt 
to enunciate or maintain any theory. We shall 

131 



132 SEXUAL LIFE. 



content ourselves with plainly stating established 
physiological facts by quotations from standard 
medical authors, leaving each reader to draw 
conclusions and construct a practical formula for 
himself. 

Object of the Reproductive Functions. — 

Man, in whatever condition we find him, is more 
or less depraved. This is true as well of the 
most cultivated and refined ladies and gentlemen 
of the great centers of civilization, as of the 
misshapen denizens of African jungles, or the 
scarce human natives of Australia. His appe- 
tites, his tastes, his habits, even his bodily func- 
tions, are perverted. Of course, there are degrees 
of depravity, and varieties of perversion. In 
some respects, savages approach more nearly to 
the natural state than civilized man, and in other 
particulars, the latter more nearly represents 
man's natural condition ; but in neither barbar- 
ism nor civilization do we find man in his prim- 
itive state. 

In consequence of this universal departure 
from his original normal condition — the causes 
of which we need not here trace, since they are 
immaterial in the consideration of this question 
— when we wish to ascertain with certainty the 
function of certain organs of the human body, 
we are obliged to compare them with the cor- 
responding organs of lower animals, and study 
the functions of the latter. It is by this method 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 133 

of investigation that most of the important 
truths of physiology have been developed ; and 
the plan is universally acknowleged to be a 
proper and logical one. 

Then if we wish to ascertain, with certainty, 
the true function of the reproductive organs in 
man, we must pursue the course above indicated ; 
in other words, study the function of rejxroduc- 
tion in lower animals. We say lower animals, 
because man is really an animal, a member of 
the great animal kingdom, though not a beast — 
at least he should not be a beast, though some 
animals in human form approach very closely to 
the line that separates humanity from brutes. 
We are brought, then, for a solution of this prob- 
lem, to a consideration of the question, What is 
the object of the r eproduc tive act in those mem- 
bers of the animal kingdom just below man in 
the scale of being ? Let science tell us ; for 
zoologists have made a careful study of this sub- 
ject for centuries. 

We quote the following paragraphs from one of 
the most distinguished and reliable of modern 
physiologists ;* the facts which he states being 
confirmed by all other physiologists : — 

" Every living being has a definite term of life, 
through which it passes by the operation of an 
invariable law, and which, at some regularly ap- 
pointed time, comes to an end. . . But while 

*Dalton. 



134 SEXUAL LIFE. 

individual organisms are thus constantly perish- 
ing and disappearing from the stage, the partic- 
ular kind, or species, remains in existence. . . 
This process, by which new organisms make 
their appearance, to take the place of those which 
are destroyed, is known as the process of repro- 
duction or generation. 

" The ovaries, as well as the eggs which they 
contain, undergo, at particular seasons, a period- 
ical development, or increase in growth. . . At 
the approach of the generative season, in all the 
lower animals, a certain number of the eggs, 
which were previously in an imperfect and in- 
active condition, begin to increase in size and be- 
come somewhat altered in structure." 

" In most fish and reptiles as well as in birds, 
this regular process of maturation and discharge 
of eggs takes place but once in a year. In dif- 
ferent species of quadrupeds it may take place 
annually, semi-annually, bi-monthly, or even 
monthly ; but in every instance it recurs at reg- 
ular intervals, and exhibits accordingly, in a 
marked degree, the periodic character which we 
have seen to belong to most of the other vital 
phenomena." 

" In most of the lower orders of animals there 
is a periodical development of the testicles in 
the male, corresponding in time with that of the 
ovaries in the female. As the ovaries enlarge 
and the eggs ripen in the one sex, so in the other 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 135 

the testicles increase in size, as the season of re- 
production approaches, and become turgid with 
spermatozoa. The accessory organs of genera- 
tion, at the same time, share the unusual activity 
of the testicles, and become increased in vascu- 
larity and ready to perform their part in the re- 
productive function." 

"Each of the two sexes is then at the same 
time under the influence of a corresponding ex- 
citement. The unusual development of the gen- 
ital organs reacts upon the entire system, and 
produces a state of peculiar activity and excita- 
bility, known as the condition of ' erethism.' " 

" It is a remarkable fact, in this connection, 
that the female of these animals will allow the 
approaches of the male only during and imme- 
diately after the cestral period; that is, just 
when the egg is recently discharged, and ready 
for impregnation. At other times, when sexual 
intercourse would be necessarily fruitless, the in- 
stinct of the animal leads her to avoid it ; and 
the concourse of the sexes is accordingly made 
to correspond in time with the maturity of the 
egg and its aptitude for fecundation." 

" The egg, immediately upon its discharge 
from the ovary, is ready for impregnation. If 
sexual intercouse happens to take place about 
that time, the egg and the spermatic fluid 
meet in some part of the female generative pas- 
sages, and fecundation is accomplished. . . If, 



136 SEXUAL LIFE. 



on the other hand, coitus do not take place, the 
egg passes down to the uterus unimpregnated, 
loses its vitality after a short time, and is finally 
carried away with the uterine secretions." 

" It is easily understood, therefore, why sexual 
intercourse should be more liable to be followed 
by pregnancy when it occurs about the menstrual 
epoch than at other times. . . . Before its dis- 
charge, the egg is immature, and unprepared for 
impregnation ; and after the menstrual period has 
passed, it gradually loses its freshness and vital- 
ity." 

The law of periodicity, as it affects the sexual 
activity of males of the human species, is indi- 
cated in the following remarks by the same au- 
thor : — 

" The same correspondence between the peri- 
ods of sexual excitement in the male and female, 
is visible in many of the animals [higher mam- 
mals], as well as in fish and reptiles. This is the 
case in most species which produce young but 
once a year, and at a fixed period, as the deer 
and the wild hog. In other species, on the con- 
trary, such as the dog, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, 
etc., where several broods of young are produced 
during the year, or where, as in the human sub- 
ject, the generative epochs of the female recur at 
short intervals, so that the particular period of 
impregnation is comparatively indefinite, the 
generative apparatus of the male is almost al- 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 137 



ways in a state of full development ; and is ex- 
cited to action at particular periods, apparently 
by some influence derived from the condition of 
the female." 

The facts presented in the foregoing quotations 
from Dr. Dalton may be summarized as follows: — 

1. The sexual function is for the purpose of 
producing new individuals to take the place of 
those who die, and thus preserve the species from 
becoming extinct. 

2. In the animal kingdom generally, the re- 
productive function is necessarily a periodical 
act, dependent upon the development of the re- 
productive organs of both the male and the fe- 
male at stated periods. 

3. In those exceptional cases in which the or- 
gans of the male are in a state of constant devel- 
opment, sexual congress occurs, in lower animals, 
only at those periods when the periodical devel- 
opment occurs in the female. 

4. Fecundation of the female element can only 
take place about the time of periodical develop- 
ment in the female. 

5. The desire for sexual congress exists in the 
female only at or immediately after the time of 
periodical development. 

6. The constant development of the sexual 
organs in human males is a condition common to 
all animals in which development occurs in the 
female at short intervals. 



138 SEXUAL LIFE. 



7. The time of sexual congress is always de- 
termined by the condition and desires of the 
female. 

An additional fact, as stated by physiologists, 
is that, under normal conditions, the human fe- 
male experiences sexual desire immediately after 
menstruation more than at any other time. It 
has, indeed, been claimed that at this period only 
does she experience the true sexual instinct un- 
less it is abnormally excited by disease or other- 
wise. 

From these facts the following conclusions 
must evidently be drawn : — 

1. The fact that in all animals but the hu- 
man species the act can be performed only when 
reproduction is possible, proves that in the ani- 
mal kingdom in general the sole object of the 
function is reproduction. Whether man is an 
exception, must be determined from other con- 
siderations. 

2. The fact that the males of other animals 
besides man in which the sexual organs are in a 
state of constant development, do not exercise 
those organs except for the purpose of reproduc- 
tion, is proof of the position that the constant de- 
velopment in man is not a warrant for their con- 
stant use. 

3. The general law that the reproductive act 
is performed only when desired by the female, is 
sufficient ground for supposing that such should 
be the case with the human species also. 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 139 

The opinions of writers of note are given in 
the following quotations : — 

"The approach of the sexes is, in its purest 
condition, the result of a natural instinct, the 
end of which is the reproduction of the species. 
Still, however, we are far from saying that this 
ultimate result is, in any proportion of cases, the 
actual thought in the minds of the parties en- 
gaged." 

" The very lively solicitations which spring 
from the genital sense, have no other end than 
to insure the perpetuity of the race." * 

" Observation fully confirms the views of in- 
ductive philosophy ; for it proves to us that coi- 
tus, exercised otherwise than under the inspira- 
tions of honest instinct, is a cause of disease in 
both sexes, and of danger to the social order." -f- 

" It is incredible that the act of brinoino* men 
into life, that act of humanity, without contra- 
diction, of the most importance, should be the 
one of which there should have been the least 
supposed necessity for regulation, or which has 
been regulated the least beneficially." J 

" But it may be said that the demands of nat- 
ure are, in the married state, not only legal, but 
should be physically right. So they are, when 
our physical life is right ; but it must not be 
forgotten that few live in a truly physical recti- 
tude." § 

* Dr. Gardner. j- Mayer. J Dunoyer, \ Gardner. 



140 SEXUAL LIFE. 

The writer then proceeds to enumerate some 
of the causes which induce abnormal sexual ex- 
citement, which arc among those already pointed 
out in the remarks on chastity and continence. 

" Among cattle, the sexes meet by common in- 
stinct and a common will ; it is reserved for the 
human animal to treat the female as a mere vic- 
tim to his lust." * 

" He is an ill husband that uses his wife as a 
'man treats et harlot, having no other end but 
pleasure. Concerning which our best rule is, 
that although in this, as in eating and drinking, 
there is an appetite to be satisfied, which cannot 
be done without pleasing that desire, yet since 
that desire and satisfaction were intended by 
nature for other ends, they should never be sep- 
arated from those ends." 

" It is a sad truth that many married persons, 
thinking that the flood-gates of liberty are set 
wide open, without measures or restraints (so 
they sail in the channel), have felt the final, re- 
wards of intemperance and lust by their unlaw- 
ful using of lawful permissions. Only let each of 
them be temperate, and both of them modest." -f- 

" It is a common belief that a man and wom- 
an, because they are legally united in marriage, 
are privileged to the unbridled exercise of ama- 
tiveness. This is wrong. Nature, in the exer- 
cise of her laws, recognizes no human enactments, 



* Quarterly Review. f Jeremy Taylor. 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 141 

and is as prompt to punish any infringement of 
her laws in those who are legally married, as in 
those out of the bonds. Excessive indulgence 
between the married produces as great and last- 
ing evil effects as in the single man or woman, and 
is nothing more or less than legalized prostitu- 
tion." * 

Animal Magnetism.— It is sometimes sug- 
gested that sexual contact is a means of com- 
municating vital force, animal magnetism, or 
some other peculiar influence. Before establish- 
ing such an. hypothesis as an object of the func- 
tion, it would be necessary to show, 1. That such 
a force exists ; 2. That it can be exchanged in 
the manner supposed ; 3. That such an exchange 
would be beneficial. Since neither one of these 
propositions has been proved, and as all are in- , 
capable of proof — being, from the nature of vital- 
ity, nerve action, and the relation of mind to 
matter, in the highest degree improbable — this 
baseless theory is wholly unsafe to follow. 

Results of Excesses. — The sad results of 
these excessive indulgences are seen on every 
hand. Numerous ailments attributed to over- 
work, constitutional disease, hereditary predispo- 
sition, know no other cause and need no other 
explanation. 

Effects upon Husbands. — No doubt the prin- 
cipal blame in this matter properly falls upon 

* Cowan. 



142 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the husband ; but it cannot be said that he is 
the greatest sufferer ; however, his punishment 
is severe enough to clearly indicate the enormity 
of the transgression, and to warn him to a refor- 
mation of his habits. The following is a quota- 
tion from an eminent medical authority : — 

" But any warning against sexual dangers 
would be very incomplete if it did not extend 
to the excesses so often committed by married 
persons in ignorance of their ill effects. Too 
frequent emissions of the life-giving fluid, and 
too frequent excitement of the nervous system 
are, as we have seen, in themselves most destruc- 
tive. The result is the same within the mar- 
riage bond as without it. The married man 
who thinks that because he is a married man he 
can commit no excess, however often the act of 
sexual congress is repeated, will suffer as cer- 
tainly and as seriously as the unmarried debau- 
chee who acts on the same principle in his indul- 
gences — perhaps more certainly from his very 
ignorance, and from his not taking those precau- 
tions and following those rules which a career of 
vice is apt to teach the sensualist. Many a man 
has, until his marriage, lived a most continent 
life ; so has his wife. As soon as they are wed- 
ded, intercourse is indulged in night after night, 
neither party having any idea that these re- 
peated sexual acts are excesses which the system 
of neither can bear, and which to the man, at 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 143 

least, is absolute ruin. The practice is contin- 
ued till health is impaired, sometimes perma- 
nently, and when a patient is at last obliged to 
seek medical advice, he is thunderstruck at learn- 
ing that his sufferings arise from excesses un- 
wittingly committed. Married people often ap- 
pear to think that connection may be repeated 
as regularly and almost as often as their meals. 
Till they are told of the danger, the idea never 
enters their heads that they are guilty of great 
and almost criminal excess ; nor is this to be 
wondered at, since the possibility of such a cause 
of disease is seldom hinted at by the medical 
man they consult." 

" Some go so far as to believe that indulgence 
may increase these powers, just as gymnastic ex- 
ercises augment the force of the muscles. This 
is a popular error ; and requires correction. Such 
patients should be told that the shock on the 
system, each time connection is indulged in, is 
very powerful, and that the expenditure of sem- 
inal fluid must be particularly injurious to or- 
gans previously debilitated. It is by this and 
similar excesses that premature old age and com- 
plaints of the generative organs are brought on." 

" The length to which married people carry 
excesses is perfectly astonishing." 

" Since my attention has been particularly 
called to this class of ailments, I feel confident 
that many of the forms of indigestion, general 



144 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ill health, hypochondriasis, etc., so often met 
with in adults, depend upon sexual excesses. . 
. . . That this cause of illness is not more 
generally acknowledged and acted on, arises 
from the natural delicacy which medical men 
must feel in putting such questions to their pa- 
tients as are necessary to elicit the facts." 

" It is not the body alone which suffers from 
excesses committed in married life. Experience 
every day convinces me that much of the lan- 
guor of mind, confusion of ideas, and inability to 
control the thoughts, of which some married men 
complain, arises from this cause." * 

The debilitating effects of excessive sexual 
indulgence arise from two causes ; viz., the loss 
of the seminal fluid, and the nervous excitement. 
With reference to the value of the spermatic 
fluid, Dr. Gardner remarks : — 

" The sperm is the purest extract of the blood. 
. . . . Nature, in creating it, has intended 
it not only to communicate life, but also to nour- 
ish the individual life. In fact, the re-absorp- 
tion of the fecundating liquid impresses upon 
the entire economy an entirely new energy, and 
a virility which contributes to the prolongation 
of life." 

A French author of considerable note, -J* re- 
marks on the same subject: — 

" Nothing costs the economy so much as the 

* Acton. f Parise. 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 145 

production of semen and its forced ejaculation. 
It has been calculated that an ounce of semen 
was equivalent to forty ounces of blood. . . . 
Semen is the essence of the whole individual. 
Hence, Fernel has said, ' Totus homo semen est.' 

It is the balm of life That which 

gives life is intended for its preservation." 

It may be questioned, perhaps, whether physi- 
ology will sustain to the fullest extent all the 
statements made in the last quotation ; but per- 
haps physiology does not appreciate so fully as 
does pathology the worth of the most vital of all 
fluids and the fearful results which follow its 
useless expenditure. 

" The moderns who are training are well aware 
that sexual indulgence wholly unfits them for 
great feats of strength, and the captain of a boat 
strictly forbids his crew anyj^ii»g of the sort 
just previous to a match. Some trainers have 
gone so far as to assure me that they can dis- 
cover by a man's style of pulling whether he has 
committed such a breach of discipline over night, 
and have not scrupled to attribute the occasional 
loss of matches to this cause." * 

The disease known as " clergyman's sore 
throat " is believed by many eminent physi- 
cians to have its chief origin in excessive venery. 
It is well known that sexual abuse is a very po- 
tent cause of throat diseases. This view is sup- 

Sex. Life. 1Q * Acton. 



146 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ported by the following from the pen of that 
learned physician, Dr. X. Bourgeois :— 

" We ought not, then, to be surprised that the 
physiological act, requiring so great an expendi- 
ture of vitality, must be injurious in the highest 
degree, when it is reiterated abusively. To en- 
gender is to give a portion of one's life. Does 
not he who is prodigal of himself precipitate his 
own ruin ? A peculiar character of the diseases 
which have their origin in venereal excesses and 
masturbation is chronicity." 

" Individual predispositions, acquired or he- 
reditary, engender for each a series of peculiar 
ills. In some, the debility bears upon the pul- 
monary organs. Hence results the dry cough, 
prolonged hoarseness, stitch in the side, spitting 
of blood, and finally phthisis. How many ex- 
amples are there of young debauchees who have 
been devoured by this cruel disease ! . . . 
. . It is, of all the grave maladies, the one 
which venereal abuses provoke the most fre- 
quently. Portal, Bayle, Louis, say this dis- 
tinctly." 

Consumption finds a large share of its victims 
among those addicted to sexual excesses, either 
of an illicit nature or within the marriage pale, 
for the physical effects are essentially identical. 
This cause is especially active and fatal with 
sedentary persons, but is sufficiently powerful to 
undermine the constitution under the most fa- 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 147 

vorable circumstances, as the following case il- 
lustrates : — 

The patient was a young man of twenty-two, 
large, muscular, and well developed, having un- 
commonly broad shoulders and a full chest. 
His occupation had been healthful, that of a la- 
borer. Had had cough for several months and 
was spitting blood. Examination of lungs showed 
that they were hopelessly diseased. There was 
no trace of consumption in the family, and the 
only cause to which the disease could be attrib- 
uted was excessive sexual indulgence, which he 
confessed to have practiced for several years. 

Effects on Wives. — If husbands are great suf- 
ferers, as we have seen, wives suffer still more 
terribly, being of feebler constitution, and hence 
less able to' bear the frequent shock which is 
suffered by the nervous system. Dr. Gardner 
places this evil prominent among the causes " the 
result of which we see deplored in the public 
press of the day, which warns us that the Amer- 
ican race is fast dying out, and that its place is 
being filled by emigrants of different lineage, 
religion, political ideas, and education." 

The same author remarks further on the re- 
sults of this with other causes which largely 
grow out of it : — 

" It has been a matter of common observation 
that the physical status of the women of Chris- 
tendom has been gradually deteriorating ; that 



148 SEXUAL LIFE. 

their mental energies were uncertain and spas- 
modic ; that they were prematurely care-worn, 
wrinkled, and enervated ; that they became sub- 
ject to a host of diseases scarcely ever known to 
the professional men of past times, but now famil- 
iar to, and the common talk of, the matrons, and 
often, indeed, of the youngest females in the com- 
munity." 

So prevalent are these maladies that Michelet 
says with truth that the present is the " age of 
womb diseases." 

Dr. J. R. Black remarks as follows on this 
subject : — 

" Medical writers agree that one of the most 
common causes of the many forms of derange- 
ment to which woman is subject consists in ex- 
cessive cohabitation. The diseases known as 
menorrhagia, dysnienorrhcea, leucorrhoea, aine- 
norrhoea, abortions, prolapsus, chronic inflamma- 
tions and ulcerations of the womb, with a yet 
greater variety of sympathetic nervous disorders, 
are some of the distressing forms of these de- 
rangements. The popular way of accounting for 
many of these ills is that they come from colds 
or from straining lifts. But if colds and great 
strain upon the parts in question develop such 
diseases, why are they not seen among the infe- 
rior animals ? The climatic alternations they en- 
dure, the severe labor some of them are obliged 
to perform, ought to cause their ruin ; or else, in 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 149 

popular phrase, ' make them catch their deaths 
from cold.' " 

A medical writer of considerable ability * pre- 
sents the following picture, the counterpart of 
which almost any one can recall as having oc- 
curred within the circle of his acquaintance ; 
perhaps numerous cases will be recalled by one 
who has been especially observing : — 

"A man of great vital force is united to a 
woman of evenly-balanced organization. The 
husband, in the exercise of what he is pleased to 
term his 'marital rights/ places his wife, in a 
short time, on the nervous, delicate, sickly list. 
In the blindness and ignorance of his animal 
nature, he requires prompt obedience to his de- 
sires ; and ignorant of the law of right in this di- 
rection, thinking that it is her duty to accede to 
his wishes, though fulfilling them with a sore and 
troubled heart, she allows him passively, never 
lovingly, to exercise daily and weekly, month in 
and month out, the low and beastly of his nat- 
ure, and eventually, slowly but surely, to kill 
her. And this man, who has as surely commit- 
ted murder as has the convicted assassin, lures to 
his net and takes unto him another wife, to re- 
peat the same programme of legalized prostitu- 
tion on his part, and sickness and premature 
death on her part." 

A husband who has not sunk in his carnality 

* Cowan. 



150 SEXUAL LIFE. 

too far below the brute creation will certainly 
pause a moment, in the face of such terrible 
facts, before he continues his sensual, selfish, mur- 
derous course. The following remarks reveal a 
still more heinous violation of nature's laws : — 

" To many it may seem that it is unnecessary 
to caution against contracting relationships at 
the period of the monthly flow, thinking that 
the instinctive laws of cleanliness and delicacy 
were sufficient to refrain the indulgence of the 
appetites; but they are little cognizant of the 
true condition of things in this world. Often 
have I had husbands inform me that they had 
not missed having sexual relations with their 
wives once or more times a day for several years ; 
and scores of women with delicate frames and 
broken-down health have revealed to me similar 
facts, and I have been compelled to make per- 
sonal appeals to the husbands." * 

The following is an important testimony by 
an eminent *f* physician : — 

" Females whose health is in a weak state . . 
. . become liable, in transgressing this law, to 
an infectious disorder, which, it is commonly 
supposed, can only originate or prevail among 
disreputable characters. But Dr. Bumstead and 
a number of other eminent authorities, believe 
and teach that gonorrhoea may originate among 
women entirely virtuous in the ordinary sense of 

* Gardner. f Dr - J - R - Bla ck. 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 151 

the term. That excessive venery is the chief 
cause that originates this peculiar form of in- 
flammation, has long been the settled opinion of 
medical men." 

It seems scarcely possible that such enormity 
could be committed by any human being, at 
least by civilized men, and in the face of the in- 
junctions of Moses to the Jews, to say nothing of 
the evident indecency of the act. The Jews 
still maintain their integrity to the observance 
of this command of their ancient lawgiver. 

" Reason and experience both show that sexual 
relations at the menstrual period are very dan- 
gerous to both man and woman, and perhaps 
also for the offspring, should there chance to be 
conception.'' * 

The woman suffers from the congestion and 
nervous excitement which occur at the most in- 
opportune moment possible. Man may suffer 
physical injury, though there are no grounds for 
the assertions of Pliny that the menstrual blood 
will, by a mere touch, rust iron, render a tree 
sterile, make dogs mad, etc., or that of Paracelsus 
that " of it the devil makes spiders, fleas, cater- 
pillars, and all the other insects that people the 
air." 

Effects upon Offspring. — That those guilty of 
the transgression should suffer seems only just ; 
but that an innocent being who had no part in 

* Mayer. 



152 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the sin — no voice in the time or manner of its 
advent into the world — that such a one should 
equally suffer, if not more bitterly, with the 
transgressors themselves, seems anything but 
just. But such is nature's inexorable law, that 
the iniquities of the parents shall be visited upon 
the children ; and this fact should be a most pow- 
erful influence to prevent parental transgression, 
especially in this direction, in which the dire 
consequences fall so heavily and so immediately 
upon an innocent being. 

Says Acton, " The ill effects of marital excesses 
are not confined to offending parties. No doubt 
can exist that many of the obscure cases of sickly 
children, born of apparently healthy parents, arise 
from this cause ; and this is borne out by inves- 
tigations amongst animals." 

Breeders of stock who wish to secure sound 
progeny will not allow the most robust stallion 
to associate with mares as many times during 
the whole season as some of these salacious hu- 
man males perform a similar act within a month. 
One reason why the offspring suffer is that the 
seminal fluid deteriorates very rapidly by re- 
peated indulgence. The spermatozoa do not 
have time to become maturely developed. Prog- 
eny resulting from such immature elements will 
possess the same deficiency. Hence the hosts of 
deformed, scrofulous, weazen, and idiotic chil- 
dren which curse the race, and testify to the sen- 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 153 

suality of their progenitors. Another reason is 
the physical and nervous exhaustion which the 
parents bring upon themselves, and which total- 
ly unfits them to beget sound, healthy offspring. 
The effects of this evil may often be traced in 
a large family of children, nearly all of whom 
show traces of the excesses of their parents. It 
commonly happens, too, that such large families 
are on the hands of poor men who cannot earn 
enough to give them sufficient food and comfort- 
able clothing, with nothing whatever to provide 
for their education. The overburdened mother 
has her strength totally exhausted by the excess- 
ive demands upon her system incident to child- 
bearing, so that she is unable to give her children 
that culture and training which all children need. 
More than as likely as not, she feels that they 
were forced upon her, and hence she cannot feel 
for them all that tender sympathy and affection 
a mother should feel. Thus the little ones grow 
up ignorant and often vicious ; for want of home 
care drives them to the street. Thus does one 
evil create another. It is certainly a question 
'which deserves some attention whether it is not 
a sin for parents to bring into the world more 
children than they can properly care for. If 
they can rear and educate three children proper- 
ly, the same work would be only half done for 
six ; and there are already in the world a suffi- 
ciency of half-raised people. From this class of 



154 SEXUAL LIFE. 

society the ranks of thieves, drunkards, beggars, 
vagabonds, and prostitutes, are recruited. Why 
should it be considered an improper or immoral 
thing to limit the number of children according 
to the circumstances of the parents ? Ought it 
not to be considered a crime against childhood and 
against the race to do otherwise ? It is seriously 
maintained by a number of distinguished per- 
sons that man " is in duty bound to limit the 
number of his children as well as the sheep on 
his farm ; the number of each to be according to 
the adequacy of his means for their support." 

Indulgence during pregnancy is followed by 
the worst results of any form of marital excess. 
The mother suffers doubly, because already laden 
with the burden of supporting two lives instead 
of one. But the results upon the child are espe- 
cially disastrous. During the time when it is 
receiving its stock of vitality, while its plastic 
form is being molded, and its various organs ac- 
quiring that integrity of structure which consti- 
tutes constitutional vigor, — during this most 
critical of all periods in the life of the new be- 
ing, its resources are exhausted and its structure 
depraved — and thus constitutional tendencies to 
disease produced — by the unnatural sexual de- 
mands made upon the mother. 

Still another terrible consequence results from 
this practice so contrary to nature. The delicate 
brain, which is being molded with the other or- 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 153 

gans of the body, receives its cast largely from 
those mental and nervous sensations and actions 
of the mother which are the most intense. One 
of the most certain effects of sexual indulgence 
at this time is to develop abnormally the sexual 
instinct in the child. Here is the key to the 
origin of much of the sexual precocity and de- 
pravity which curse humanity. Sensuality is born 
in the souls of a large share of the rising gen- 
eration. What wonder that prostitution flour- 
ishes in spite of Christianity and civil law ? 

It is scarcely necessary to say that all medical 
testimony concurs in forbidding indulgence dur- 
ing gestation. The same reasons require its in- 
terdiction during the nursing period. The fact 
that fecundation would be impossible during 
pregnancy, and that during this period the fe- 
male, normally, has no sexual desire, are other 
powerful arguments in favor of perfect conti- 
nence at this time. 

We quote the following from a work on health 
by Dr. J. R. Black :— 

" Coition during pregnancy is one of the ways 
in which the predisposition is laid for that terri- 
ble disease in children, epilepsy. The unnatural 
excitement of the nervous system in the mother 
by such a cause, cannot operate otherwise than 
by inflicting injury upon the tender germ in her 
womb. This germ, it must be remembered, de- 
rives every quality it possesses from the parents, 



156 SEXUAL LIFE. 

as well as every particle of matter of which it is 
composed. The old notion of anything like 
spontaneity in the development of the qualities 
of a new being is at variance with all the latest 
facts and inductions concerning reproduction. 
And so is that of a creative fiat. The smallest 
organic cell, as well as the most complicated or- 
ganism, in form and quality, is wholly depend- 
ent upon the laws of derivation. These laws are 
competent to explain, however subtle the ulti- 
mate process may be, the great diversities of 
human organization and character. Impressions 
from without, the emotions, conduct, and play of 
the organic processes within, are never alike from 
day to day, or from hour to hour ; and it is from 
the aggregate of these in the parents, but espe- 
cially of those in the mother immediately before 
and after conception, that the quality of the off- 
spring is determined. Suppose, then, that there 
is every now and then an unnatural, excited, and 
exhaustive state of the nervous system produced 
in the mother by excessive cohabitation, is it any 
wonder that the child's nervous system, which 
derives its qualities from those of its parents, 
should take its peculiar stamp from that of the 
parent in whom it lives, moves, and has its being ? 
In the adult, epilepsy is frequently developed by 
excessive venery ; and the child born with such 
a predisposition will be exceedingly liable to the 
disease during its early years, when the nervous 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 157 

system is notoriously prone to deranged action 
from very slight disturbing causes. 

" The infringement of this law regulating in- 
tercourse during pregnancy also reacts injuri- 
ously upon the mental capacity of the child, 
tending to give it a stupid, animalized look ; and, 
there is also good reason to believe, aids in de- 
veloping the idiotic condition." 

The married man will raise the plea that in- 
dulgence is to him a necessity. He has only to 
practice the principles laid down for the main- 
tenance of continence to entirely remove any 
such necessity should there be the slightest sem- 
blance of a real demand. Again, what many 
mistake for an indication of the necessity for in- 
dulgence, to relieve an accumulation of semen, is 
in fact, to state the exact truth, but a call of 
nature for a movement of the bowels. How this 
may occur, has already been explained, as being- 
due to the pressure of the distended rectum upon 
the internal organs of generation situated at the 
base of the bladder. It is for this reason, chiefly, 
that a good share of sexual excesses occur in the 
morning. 

But, aside from all other considerations, is it 
not the most supreme selfishness for a man to 
consider only himself in his sexual relations, 
making his wife wholly subservient to his own 
desires ? As a learned professor remarks, in 
speaking of woman, " Who has a right to regard 
her as a therapeutic agent ? " 



158 SEXUAL LIFE. 

But what is the practical conclusion to be 
drawn from all the foregoing ? What should 
people do ? what may they do ? Dr. Gardner 
offers the following remarks, which partially 
answer the questions : — 

"We have shown that we can 'do right' 
without prejudice to health by the exercise of 
continence. Self-restraint, the ruling of the pas- 
sions, is a virtue, and is within the power of all 
well-regulated minds. Nor is this necessarily 
perpetual or absolute. The passions may be re- 
strained within proper limitations. He who 
indulges in lascivious thoughts may stimulate 
himself to frenzy ; but if his mind were under 
proper control, he would find other employment 
for it, and his body, obedient to its potent sway, 
would not become the master of the man." 

What are the " proper limitations," every per- 
son must decide for himself in view of the facts 
which have been presented. If he find that the 
animal in his nature is too strong to allow him 
to comply with what seems to be the require- 
ments of natural law, let him approximate as 
nearly to the truth as possible. " Let every man 
be fully persuaded in his own mind," and act 
accordingly, not forgetting that this is a matter 
with serious moral bearings, and, hence, one in 
which conscience should be on the alert. It is 
of no use to reject truth because it is unpalatable. 
There can be nothing worse for a man than to 
" know the truth and do it not." 



MARITAL EXCESSES. 159 

It is but fair to say that there is a wide 
diversity of opinion among medical men on this 
subject. A very few hold that the sexual act 
should never be indulged except for the purpose 
of reproduction, and then only at periods when 
reproduction will be possible. Others, while 
equally opposed to the excesses, the effects of 
which have been described, limit indulgence to 
the number of months in the year. 

Read, reflect, weigh well the matter, then fix 
upon a plan of action, and, if it be in accordance 
with the dictates of better judgment, do not 
swerve from it. 

If the suggestion made near the outset of these 
remarks, in comparing the reproductive function 
in man and animals — viz., that the seasons of 
sexual approach should be governed by the in- 
clination of the female — were conscientiously 
followed, it would undoubtedly do away with at 
least three-fourths of the excesses which have 
been under consideration. Before rejecting the 
hint so plainly offered by nature, let every man 
consider for a moment whether he has any oth- 
er than purely selfish arguments to produce 
against it. 



Prevention of Conception, 



The evil considered in the preceding section is 
by far the greatest cause of those which will be 
dwelt upon in this. Excesses are habitually 
practiced through ignorance or carelessness of 
their direct results, and then, to prevent the legit- 
imate result of the reproductive act, innumera- 
ble devices are employed to render it fruitless. 
To even mention all of these would be too great 
a breach of propriety, even in this plain-spoken 
work ; but accurate description is unnecessary, 
since those who need this warning are perfectly 
familiar with all the foul accessories of evil thus 
employed. We cannot do better than to quote 
from the writings of several of the most emi- 
nent authors upon this subject. The following 
paragraphs are from the distinguished Mayer, 
who has already been frequently quoted : — 

" The numerous stratagems invented by de- 
bauch to annihilate the natural consequences of 
coition, have all the same end in view." 

Conjugal Onanism. — " The soiling of the con- 
jugal bed by the shameful maneuvers to which 
we have made allusion, is mentioned for the first 
time in Gen. 38 : 6, and following verses : ' And 
it came to pass, when he [Onan] went in unto 
160 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 161 

his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the 
ground, lest that he should give seed to his 
brother. And the thing which he did displeased 
the Lord ; wherefore he slew him/ 

" Hence the name of conjugal onanism. 

" One cannot tell to what great extent this 
vice is practiced, except by observing its conse- 
quences, even among people who fear to commit 
the slightest sin, to such a degree is the public 
conscience perverted upon this point. Still, 
many husbands know that nature often succeeds 
in rendering nugatory the most subtle calcula- 
tions, and reconquers the rights which they have 
striven to frustrate. No matter ; they persevere, 
none the less, and by the force of habit they poi- 
son the most blissful moments of life, with no 
surety of averting the result that they fear. So, 
who knows if the infants, too often feeble and 
weazen, are not the fruit of these in them- 
selves incomplete procreations, and disturbed by 
preoccupations foreign to the generic act ? Is 
it not reasonable to suppose that the creative 
power, not meeting in its disturbed functions the 
conditions necessary for the elaboration of a nor- 
mal product, the conception might be from its 
origin imperfect, and the being which proceeded 
therefrom, one of those monsters which are de- 
scribed in treatises on teratology ?" 

" Let us see, now, what are the consequences 

Sex. Life. 11 



162 SEXUAL LIFE. 

to those given to this practice of conjugal onan- 
ism. 

" We have at our disposition numerous facts 
which rigorously prove the disastrous influence 
of abnormal coitus to the woman, but we think 
it useless to publish them. All practitioners 
have more or less observed them, and it will only 
be necessary for them to call upon their memo- 
ries to supply what our silence leaves. ' How- 
ever, it is not difficult to conceive,' says Dr. Fran- 
cis Devay, 'the degree of perturbation that m a 
like practice should exert upon the genital sys- 
tem of woman by provoking desires which are 
not gratified ; a profound stimulation is felt 
through the entire apparatus ; the uterus, fallo- 
pian tubes, and ovaries enter into a state of 
orgasm, a storm which is not appeased by the 
natural crisis ; a nervous super-excitation per- 
sists. There occurs, then, what would take place 
if, presenting food to a famished man, one should 
snatch it from his mouth after having thus vio- 
lently excited his appetite. The sensibilities of 
the womb and the entire reproductive system are 
teased for no purpose. It is to this cause, too 
often repeated, that we should attribute the 
multiple neuroses, those strange affections which 
originate in the genital system of woman. Our 
conviction respecting them is based upon a great 
number of observations. Furthermore, the nor- 
mal relations existing between the married 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 163 

couple undergo unfortunate changes ; this affec- 
tion, founded upon reciprocal esteem, is little by 
little effaced by the repetition of an act which 
pollutes the marriage bed ; from thence proceed 
certain hard feelings, certain deep impressions 
which, gradually growing, eventuate in the scan- 
dalous ruptures of which the community rarely 
know the real motive.'" 

" If the good harmony of families, and the 
reciprocal relations are seriously menaced by the 
invasion of these detestable practices, the health 
of women, as we have already intimated, is fear- 
fully injured. A great number of neuralgias ap- 
pear to us to have no other cause. Many wom- 
en that we have interrogated on this matter 
have fortified this opinion. But that which to 
us has passed to the condition of incontestable 
proof, is the prevalence of uterine troubles of 
enervation among the married, hysterical symp- 
toms which are met with in the conjugal re- 
lation as often as among young virgins, arising 
from the vicious habits of the husbands in their 
conjugal intercourse. . . Still more, there is a 
graver affection, which is daily increasing, and 
which, if nothing arrests its invasion, will soon 
have attained the proportions of a scourge ; we 
speak of the degeneration of the womb. We do 
not hesitate to place in the foremost rank, among 
the causes of this redoubtable disease, the refine- 
ments of civilization, and especially the artifices 



164 SEXUAL LIFE. 

introduced in our day in the generic act. When 
there is no procreation, although the procreative 
faculties are excited, we see these pseudo-mor- 
phoses arise. Thus it is noticed that polypi and 
schirrus [cancer] of the womb are common 
among prostitutes. And it is easy to account 
for the manner of action of this pathogenetic 
cause, if we consider how probable it is that the 
ejaculation and contact of the sperm with the 
uterine neck, constitutes, for the woman, the 
crisis of the genital function, by appeasing the 
venereal orgasm and calming the voluptuous 
emotions under the action of which the entire 
economy is convulsed." 

" We may, we trust, be pardoned for remark- 
ing upon the artifices imagined to prevent fecun- 
dation that there is in them an immense danger, 
of incalculable limits. We do not fear to be 
contradicted or taxed with exaggeration in ele- 
vating them into the proportions of a true ca- 
lamity." 

The following is from an eminent physician * 
who for many years devoted his whole attention 
to the diseases of women and lectured upon the 
subject in a prominent medical college : — 

" It is undeniable that all the methods em- 
ployed to prevent pregnancy are physically in- 
jurious. Some of these have been characterized 
with sufficient explicitness, and the injury result- 

*Dr. Gardner. 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 165 

ing from incomplete coitus to both parties has 
been made evident to all who are willing to be 
convinced. It should require but a moment's 
consideration to convince any one of the harm- 
fulness of the common use of cold ablutions and 
astringent infusions and various medicated wash- 
es. Simple and often wonderfully salutary as is 
cold water to a diseased limb, festering with in- 
flammation, yet few are rash enough to cover a 
gouty toe, rheumatic knee, or erysipelatous head 
with cold water. . . . Yet, when in the general 
state of nervous and physical excitement attend- 
ant upon coitus, when the organs principally 
engaged in this act are congested and turgid 
with blood, do you think you can with impunity 
throw a flood of cold or even lukewarm water 
far into the vitals in a continual stream ? Often, 
too, women add strong medicinal agents, intend- 
ed to destroy by dissolution the spermatic germs, 
ere they have time to fulfill their natural destiny. 
These powerful astringents suddenly corrugate 
and close the glandular structure of the parts, and 
this is followed, necessarily, by a corresponding- 
reaction, and the final result is debility and ex- 
haustion, signalized by leucorrhoea, prolapsus, and 
other diseases. 

" Finally, of the use of intermediate tegument- 
ary coverings, made of thin rubber or gold-beat- 
er's skin, and so often relied upon as absolute 
preventives, Madame de Stael is reputed to have 



166 SEXUAL LIFE. 

said, ' They are cobwebs for protection and bul- 
warks against love/ Their employment certain- 
ly must produce a feeling of shame and disgust 
utterly destructive of the true delight of pure 
hearts and refined sensibilities. They are sug- 
gestive of licentiousness and the brothel, and 
their employment degrades to bestiality the 
true feelings of manhood and the holy state of 
matrimony. Neither do they give, except in 
a very limited degree, the protection desired. 
Furthermore they produce (as alleged by the best 
modern French writers, who are more familiar 
with the effect of their use than we are in the 
United States) certain physical lesions from their 
irritating presence as foreign bodies, and also 
from the chemicals employed in their fabrica- 
tion, and other effects inseparable from their em- 
ployment, ofttimes of a really serious nature. 

" I will not further enlarge upon these instru- 
mentalities. Sufficient has been said to convince 
any one that to trifle with the grand functions of 
our organism, to attempt to deceive and thwart 
nature in her highly ordained prerogatives — no 
matter how simple seem to be the means em- 
ployed — is to incur a heavy responsibility and 
run a fearful risk. It matters little whether a 
railroad train is thrown from the track by a froz- 
en drop of rain or a huge bowlder lying in the 
way, the result is the same, the injuries as great. 
Moral degradation, physical disability, premature 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 167 

exhaustion and decrepitude are the result of 
these physical frauds, and force upon our convic- 
tion the adage, which the history of every day 
confirms, that 'honesty is the best policy.'" 

"Male Continence." — A peculiar method 
known as " male continence " is practiced by the 
members of the Oneida Community, which is 
thus described by Mr. Noyes, the founder of the 
society : — 

"The exact thing that our theory does pro- 
pose, is to take that same power of moral re- 
straint which Paul, Malthus, the Shakers, and 
all considerate men, use in one way or another to 
limit propagation, and, instead of applying it, as 
they do, to the prevention of the intercourse of 
the sexes, introduce it at another stage of the 
proceedings ; viz., after the sexes have come to- 
gether in social effusion, and before they have 
reached the propagative crisis, thus allowing 
them all, and more than all, the ordinary free- 
dom of love (since the crisis always interrupts the 
romance), and at the same time avoiding unde- 
sired procreation and all the other evils incident 
to male incontinence." * 

This abominable practice can be considered as 
nothing better than double masturbation. Its 
terrible results do not differ much from those of 
solitary vice. The following remarks will show 
what the effects of such a practice are in the 

* Lewis. 



168 SEXUAL LIFE. 

male ; the effects upon the female are precisely 
the same as those resulting from " conjugal onan- 
ism," which have been already described : — 

" The excited nervous system, if it does not re- 
ceive that shock which we have seen attends 
ejaculation, suffers a longer and more severe 
strain, lasting often days or nights, and one. that 
is repeated over and over again. In fact, the 
non-occurrence of emission after sexual excite- 
ment, permits, for a time, the repetition of the 
excitement ; but ultimately a collapse takes place 
from which it is very difficult to rally a patient, 
. . . These practices, unnatural in the highest 
degree, cannot be carried on with impunity. 
Nature is sure, sooner or later, to inflict a severe 
retaliation." * 

Shaker Tiews. — The Shakers do not, as many 
suppose, believe wholly in celibacy. They be- 
lieve in marriage and reproduction regulated by 
the natural law. They, also, would limit popu- 
lation, but not by interfering with nature ; rath- 
er, by following nature's indications to the very 
letter. They believe a that no animals should 
use their reproductive powers and organs for 
any other than the simple purpose of procrea- 
tion." Recognizing the fact that this is the law 
among lower animals, they insist upon applying 
it to man. Thus they find no necessity for the 
employment of those abominable contrivances so 

* Acton. 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 169 

common among those who disregard the laws of 
nature. Who will not respect the purity which 
must characterize sexual relations so governed ? 
Such a method for regulating the number of off- 
spring is in immense contrast with that of the 
Oneida Community, which opens the door to the 
unstinted gratification of lust, separates the repro- 
ductive act entirely from its original purpose, 
and makes it the means of mere selfish, sen- 
sual, beastly — worse than brutish — gratification. 
Those who are acquainted with the history of 
the founder of this community are obliged to 
look upon him as a scheming sensualist who 
well knows the truth, but deliberately chooses a 
course of evil, and beguiles into his snares others 
as sensual as himself. The abominations prac- 
ticed among the members of the community 
which he has founded, are represented by those 
who have had an inside view of its workings as 
too foul to mention. It seems almost wonderful 
that Providence does not lay upon this gigantic 
brothel his hand of vengeance as in ancient times 
he did upon Sodom, which could hardly have 
been more sunken in infamy than is this den 
of licentiousness. It seems astonishing that it 
should be tolerated in the midst of a country 
which professes to regard virtue and respect the 
marriage institution. 

Moral Bearings of the Question. — Most of 
the considerations presented thus far have been 



170 SEXUAL LIFE. 

of a physical character, though occasional refer- 
ences to the moral aspect of the question have 
been made. In a certain sense — and a true one 
— the question is wholly a moral one ; for what 
moral right have men or women to do that 
which will injure the integrity of the physical 
organism given them, and for which they are ac- 
countable to their Creator ? Surely none ; for the 
man who destroys himself .by degrees, is no less 
a murderer, than he who cuts his throat or puts 
a bullet through his brain. The crime is the 
same — being the shortening of human life — 
Avhether the injury is done to one's self or to an- 
other. In this matter, there are at least three 
sufferers ; the husband, the wife, and the off- 
spring, though in most cases, doubtless, the hus- 
band is the one to whom the sin almost exclu- 
sively belongs. 

But there is a more startling phase of this 
moral question. It is not impossible to show 
that actual violence is done to a human life. 

It has been previously shown that in the two 
elements, the ovum of the female, and the sper- 
matozoon of the male, are, in rudimentary form, 
all the elements which go to make up the " hu- 
man form divine." Alone, neither of these ele- 
ments can become anything more than it already 
is ; but the instant that the two elements come 
in contact, fecundation takes place, and the indi- 
vidual life begins. From that moment until ma- 



PREVENTION OF QONCEPTION. 171 

turity is reached, years subsequently, the whole 
process is only one of development. Nothing ab- 
solutely new is added at any subsequent moment. 
Tn view of these facts, it is evident that at the 
very instant of conception the embryonic human 
being possesses all the right to life it ever can 
possess. It is just as much an individual, a dis- 
tinct human being, possessed of soul and body, 
as it ever is, though in a very immature form. 
That conception may take place during the re- 
productive act cannot be denied. If, then, means 
are employed with a view to prevent conception 
immediately after the accomplishment of the act, 
or at any subsequent time, if successful, it would 
be by destroying the delicate product of the con- 
ception which had already occurred, and which, 
as before observed, is as truly a distinct individ- 
ual as it can ever become — certainly as inde- 
pendent as at any time previous to birth. 

Is it immoral to take human life ? Is it a sin 
to kill a child ? Is it a crime to strangle an in- 
fant at birth ? Is it a murderous act to destroy 
a half-formed human being in its mother's 
womb ? Who will dare to answer " No," to one 
of these questions ? Then, who can refuse as- 
sent to the plain truth that it is equally a mur- 
der to deprive of life the most recent product of 
the generative act ? 

Who can number the countless murders that 
have been perpetrated at this early period of ex- 



172 SEXUAL LIFE. 

istence ? Who can estimate the load of guilt 
that weighs upon some human souls ; and who 
knows how many brilliant lights have been thus 
early extinguished, how many promising human 
plantlets thus ruthlessly destroyed in the very 
act of germinating ? It is to be hoped that in 
the final account the extenuating influence of ig- 
norance may weigh heavily in the scale of jus- 
tice against the damning testimony of these 
" unconsidered murders." 

It will be urged that these early destructions 
are not murders. Murder is an awful word. 
The act itself is a terrible crime. No wonder 
that its personal application should be studiously 
avoided ; the human being who would not shrink 
from such a charge would be unworthy of the 
name of human — a very brute. Nevertheless, 
it is necessary to look the plain facts squarely in 
the face, and shrink not from the decision of an 
enlightened conscience. We quote the follow- 
ing portions of an extract which we give in full 
elsewhere ; it is from the same distinguished au- 
thority * whom we have frequently quoted : — 

" There is, in fact, no moment after conception 
when it can be said that the child has not life, 
and the crime of destroying human life is as 
heinous and as sure before the period of ' quicken- 
ing ' has been attained, as afterward. But you 
still defend your horrible deed by saying : ' Well, 

* Gardner. 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 173 

if there be, as you say, this mere animal life, 
equivalent at the most to simple vitality, there is 
no mind, no soul destroyed, and, therefore, there 
is no crime committed.' Just so surely as one 
would destroy and root out of existence all the 
fowls in the world by destroying all the eggs in 
existence, so certain is it that you do by your 
act destroy the animal man in the egg and the 
soul which animates it. . . . Murder is always 
sinful, and murder is the willful destruction of a 
human being at any period of its existence, from 
its earliest germinal embryo to its final, simple, 
animal existence in aged decrepitude and com- 
plete mental imbecility." 

Difficulties. — Married people will exclaim, 
"What shall we do?" Delicate mothers who 
have already more children on their hands than 
they can care for, whose health is insufficient to 
longer endure the pains and burdens of preg- 
nancy, but whose sensual husbands continue to 
demand indulgence, will echo in despairing 
tones, while acknowledging the truth, "What 
shall we do ?" We will answer the latter ques- 
tion first. 

Mr. Mill, the distinguished English logician, in 
his work on the " Subjection of Women," thus 
represents the erroneous view which is popularly 
held of the sexual relations of the wife to the 
husband: "The wife, however brutal a tyrant 
she may be chained to — though she may know 



174 SEXUAL LIFE. 

that he hates her, though it may be his daily 
pleasure to torture her, and though she may feel 
it impossible not to loathe him — he can claim 
from her and enforce the lowest degradation of a 
human being, that of being made the instru- 
ment of an animal function contrary to her in- 
clinations." 

A woman does not, upon the performance of 
the marriage ceremony, surrender all her personal 
rights. The law recognizes ' this fact if her hus- 
band beats her, or in any way injures her by phys- 
ical force, or even by neglect. Why may she not 
claim protection from other maltreatment as 
well ? or, at least, why may she not refuse to 
lend herself to beastly lust ? She remains the 
proprietor of her own body, though married; 
and who is so lost to all sense of justice, equity, 
and even morality, as to claim that she is under 
any moral obligation to allow her body to be 
abused ? 

" But such a course would lead to separation 
and divorce in numerous cases." Who will con- 
tend for the maintenance of a relation which has 
no other bond than lust ? which views no other 
object than the gratification of the animal pas- 
sions ? Were not such a bond better broken than 
preserved ? And were not such an object better 
frustrated than attained ? Judge candidly. 

We have carefully avoided any attempt to 
point out the duty of a woman under the cir- 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 175 

cumstances named. That matter must be left 
for her to settle with her own conscience after 
receiving due information. Some will not hesi- 
tate to urge her to assert and maintain her rights 
at all hazard. Should a woman feel in conscience 
bound to do so, it would be the duty of every 
moral person to support her, for she has an un- 
doubted moral right, whether she chooses to ex- 
ercise it or not. 

Now to the first question, or to the question 
as asked by the first parties — married people 
who together seek for a solution of the difficul- 
ties arising from an abandonment of all protect- 
ees against fecundation. The true remedy, 
and the natural one, is doubtless to be found in 
the suggestion made under the heads of " Con- 
tinence " and " Marital Excesses." By a course 
of life in accordance with the principles there 
indicated, all of these evils and a thousand more 
would be avoided. There would be less sensual 
enjoyment, but more elevated joy. There would 
be less animal love, but more spiritual commun- 
ion ; less grossness, more purity ; less develop- 
ment of the animal, and a more fruitful soil for 
the culture of virtue, holiness, and all the Chris- 
tian graces. 

" But such a life would be impossible this side 
of Heaven." A few who claim to have tried the 
experiment think not. The Shakers claim to 
practice, as well as teach, such principles ; and 



176 SEXUAL LIFE. 



with the potent aids to continence previously 
specified, it might be found less difficult in reali- 
zation than in thought. 

There will be many, the vast majority, per- 
haps, who will not bring their minds to accept 
the truth which nature seems to teach, which 
would confine sexual acts to reproduction wholly. 
Others, acknowledging the truth, declare "the 
spirit willing " though " the flesh is weak." Such 
will inquire, " Is there not some compromise by 
means of which we may escape the greater evils 
of our present mode of life?" Such may find 
in the following facts suggestions for a " better 
way," if not the best way, though it cannot be 
recommended as wholly free from dangers, and 
though it cannot be said of it that it is not an 
unnatural way : — 

"Menstruation in woman indicates an apti- 
tude for impregnation, and this condition re- 
mains for a period of six or eight days after the 
entire completion of the flow. During this time 
only can most women conceive. Allow twelve 
days for the onset of the menses to pass by, and 
the probabilities of impregnation are very slight. 
This act of continence is healthful, moral, and 
irreproachable." * 

It should be added to the above that the plan 
suggested is not absolutely certain to secure im- 
munity from conception. The period of absti- 

* Gardner. 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 177 

nence should certainly extend from the beginning 
of menstruation to the fourteenth day. To se- 
cure even reasonable safety, it is necessary to 
practice further abstinence for three or four days 
previous to the beginning of the flow. 

Many writers make another suggestion which 
would certainly be beneficial to individual health ; 
viz., that the husband and wife should habitually 
occupy separate beds. Such a practice would un- 
doubtedly serve to keep the sexual instincts in 
abeyance. Separate apartments, or at least the 
separation of the beds by a curtain, are recom- 
mended by some estimable physicians, who sug- 
gest that such a plan would enable both parties 
to conduct their morning ablutions with proper 
thoroughness and without sacrificing that nat- 
ural modesty which operates so powerfully as a 
check upon the excessive indulgence of the pas- 
sions. Many will think the suggestion a good 
one and will make a practical application of it. 
Sleeping in single beds is reputed to be a Euro- 
pean custom of long standing, especially among 
the higher classes. 

This subject cannot be concluded better than 
by the following quotations from an excellent 
and able work entitled, "The Ten Laws of 
Health"*:— 

"The obvious design of the sexual desire is 
the reproduction of the species. . . . The grat- 



Sex. Life. l«3 * J. B. Black, M. D. 



178 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ification of this passion, or indeed of any other, 
beyond its legitimate end, is an undoubted viola- 
tion of natural law, as may be determined by 
the light of nature, and by the resulting moral 
and physical evils." 

" Those creatures not gifted with erring rea- 
son, but with unerring instinct, and that have 
not the liberty of choice between good and evil, 
cohabit only at stated periods, when pleasure and 
reproduction are alike possible. It is so ordered 
among them that the means and the end are 
never separated ; and as it was the All-Wise Be- 
ing who endowed them with this instinct, with- 
out the responsibility resulting from the power 
to act otherwise, it follows that it is His LAW, 
and must, therefore, be the true copy for all be- 
ings to follow having the same functions to per- 
form, and for the same end. The mere fact that 
men and women have the power and liberty of 
conforming or not conforming to this copy does 
not set them free from obedience to a right 
course, nor from the consequences of disobedi- 
ence." 

" The end of sexual pleasure being to repro- 
duce the species, it follows, from the considera- 
tions just advanced, that when the sexual func- 
tion is diverted from its end, reproduction, or if 
the means be used when the end is impossible, 
harm or injury should ensue." 

"Perhaps the number is not small of those 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 179 

who think there is nothing wrong in an unlim- 
ited indulgence of the sexual propensity during 
married life. The marriage vow seems to be 
taken as equivalent to the freest license, about 
which there need be no restraint. Yet, if there 
is any truth in the law in reference to the enjoy- 
ment of the means only when the end is possi- 
ble, the necessity of the limitation of this indul- 
gence during married life is clearly as great as 
for that of any other sensual pleasure. 

"A great majority of those constituting the 
most highly civilized communities, act upon the 
belief that anything not forbidden by sacred or 
civil law is neither sinful nor wrong. They have 
not found cohabitation during pregnancy forbid- 
den ; nor have they ever had their attention 
drawn to the injury to health and organic devel- 
opment, which such a practice inflicts. Hence, a 
habitual yielding to inclination in this matter 
has determined their life-long behavior. 

" The infringement of this law in the married 
state does not produce in the husband any very 
serious disorder. Debility, aches, cramps, and a 
tendency to epileptic seizures, are sometimes seen 
as the effects of great excess. An evil of no 
small account is the steady growth of the sexual 
passion by habitual unrestraint. It is in this 
way that what is known as libidinous blood is 
nursed as well among those who are strictly vir- 
tuous, in the ordinary meaning of the term, as 



180 SEXUAL LIFE. 

among those who are promiscuous in their inter- 
course. 

" The wife and the offspring are the chief suf- 
ferers by the violation of this law among the 
married. Why this is so, may in part be ac- 
counted for by the following consideration : 
Among the animal kind it is the female which 
decides when the approaches of the male are al- 
lowable. When these are untimely, her instinct- 
ive prompting leads her to resist and protect 
herself with ferocious zeal. No one, at all ac- 
quainted with the remarkable wisdom nature in- 
variably displays in all her operations, will doubt 
that the prohibition of all sexual intercourse 
among animals during the period of pregnancy 
must be for a wise and good purpose. And, if it 
serves a wise and good purpose with them, why 
should an opposite course not serve an unwise 
and bad purpose with us ? Our bodies are very 
much like theirs in structure and in function ; 
and in the mode and laws that govern reproduc- 
tion there is absolutely no difference. The mere 
fact that we possess the power to act otherwise 
than they do during that period, does not make 
it right. The mere, fact that we can produce 
abortions, which they cannot do, does not make 
it right. By the fruits of an act may it be 
known. 

" Human beings having no instinctive prompt- 
ing as to what is right and what is wrong, co- 



PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION. 181 

habitation, like many other points of the behav- 
ior, is left for reason or the' will to determine; 
or, rather, as things now are, to unreason ; for 
reason is neither consulted nor enlightened as to 
what is proper and allowable in the matter. 
Nature's rule, by instinct, makes it devolve upon 
the female to determine when the approaches of 
the male are allowable ; and if the same thing 
devolves upon woman, and the duty is not per- 
formed, this may in part account for the fact 
that she suffers so much from this form of mis- 
conduct ; or the one that does not do as nature 
and the condition of the body require, becomes 
the responsible sufferer. 

" But some may say that she is helpless in the 
matter. No one dare to approach her without 
consent before marriage ; and why should man 
not be educated up to the point of doing the 
same after marriage ? She is neither his slave, 
nor his property, nor does the tie of marriage 
bind her to carry out any unnatural require- 
ment." 



Infanticide and Abortion, 



Few but medical men are aware of the enor- 
mous proportions which have been assumed by 
these terrible crimes during the present century. 
That they are increasing with fearful rapidity 
and have really reached such a magnitude as 
to seriously affect the growth of civilized na- 
tions, and to threaten their very existence, has 
become a patent fact to observing physicians. 
The crime itself differs little, in reality, from that 
considered in the last section, the prevention of 
conception. It is, in fact, the same crime post- 
poned till a later period. 

We quote the following eloquent words on 
this subject : — 

" Of all the sins, physical and moral against man 
and God, I know of none so utterly to * be con- 
demned as the very common one of the destruc- 
tion of the child while yet in the womb of the 
mother. So utterly repugnant is it that I can 
scarcely express the loathing with which I ap- 
proach the subject. Murder! — murder in cold 
blood, without cause, of an unknown child ; one's, 
nearest relative ; in fact, part of one's very being ; 
actually having, not only one's own blood in its 
being, but that blood momentarily interchang- 
182 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 183 

ing ! Good God ! Does it seem possible that 
such depravity can exist in a parent's breast — in 
a mother's heart ! 

" Tis for no wrong that it has committed that 
its sweet life is so cruelly taken away. Its com- 
ing is no disgrace ; its creation was not in sin, 
but — its mother ' do n't want to be bothered with 
any more brats ; can hardly take care of what 
she has got ; is going to Europe in the spring.' 

"We can forgive the poor deluded girl — se- 
duced, betrayed, abandoned — who, in her wild 
frenzy, destroys the mute evidence of her guilt. 
We have only sympathy and sorrow for her. 
But for the married shirk who disregards her 
divinely-ordained duty, we have nothing but 
contempt, even if she be the lordly woman of 
fashion, clothed in purple and fine linen. If 
glittering gems adorn her person, within there is 
foulness and squalor."* 

Although this crime has attained remarkable 
proportions in modern times, it is not a new one 
by any means, as the following paragraph will 
suffice to show : — 

" Infanticide and exposure were also the cus- 
tom among the Romans, Medes, Canaanites, 
Babylonians, and other Eastern nations, with 
the exception of the Israelites and Egyptians. 
The Scandinavians killed their offspring from 
pure fantasy. The Norwegians, after having 

* Gardner. 



184 SEXUAL LIFE, 



carefully swaddled their children, put some 
food into their mouths, placed them under the 
roots of trees or under the rocks to preserve 
them from ferocious beasts. Infanticide was al- 
so permitted among the Chinese, and we saw, 
during the last century, vehicles going round the 
streets of Pekin daily to collect the bodies of 
the dead infants. " To-day there exist foundling 
hospitals to receive children abandoned by their 
parents. The same custom is also observed in 
Japan, in the isles of the Southern Ocean, at 
Otaheite, and among several savage nations of 
North America. It is related of the Ja,ggers 
of Guinea, that they devour their own chil- 
dren."* 

The Greeks practiced infanticide systematic- 
ally, their laws at one time requiring the de- 
struction of crippled or weakly children. Among 
all the various nations, the general object of the 
crime seems to have been to avoid the trouble of 
rearing the children, or to avoid a surplus, ob- 
jects not far different from those had in view by 
those who practice the same crimes at the pres- 
ent time. 

The destruction of the child alter the mother 
has felt its movements is termed infanticide ; be- 
fore that time it is commonly known as abortion. 
It is a modern notion that the child possesses 
no soul or individual life until the period of 



* Burdach. 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 185 

quickening, an error which we have already suf- 
ficiently exposed. The ancients, with just as 
much reason, contended that no distinct life was 
present until after birth. Hence it was that 
they could practice without scruple the crime of 
infanticide to prevent too great increase of popu- 
lation. " Plato and Aristotle were advocates of 
this practice, and these Stoics justified this mon- 
strous practice by alleging that the child only ac- 
quired a soul at the moment when it ceased to 
have uterine life and commenced to respire. 
From hence it resulted that, the child not being- 
animated, its destruction was no murder." 

The prevalence of this crime will be indicated 
by the following observations from the most re- 
liable sources : — 

" We know that in certain countries abortion 
is practiced in a manner almost public, without 
speaking of the East, where it has, so to speak, 
entered into the manners of the country. We 
see it, in America, in a great city like New York, 
constituting a regular business and not prevent- 
ed, where it has enriched more than one mid- 
wife." 

"England does not yield to Germany or 
France in the frequency of the crime of in- 
fanticide." * 

" Any statistics attainable are very incom- 
plete. False certificates are daily given by at- 
tending physicians. Men, if they are only rich 

** Jardien. 



186 SEXUAL LIFE. 

enough, die of i congestion of the brain/ not ' de- 
lirium tremens ;' and women, similarly situated, 
do not die from the effects of abortion, but of 
' inflammation of the bowels/ etc." 

" Infanticide, as it is generally considered (de- 
stroying a child after quickening), is of very rare 
occurrence in New York, whereas abortions (de- 
stroying the embryo before quickening) are of 
daily habit in the families of the best informed 
and most religious ; among those abounding in 
wealth, as well as among the poor and needy." * 

" Perhaps only medical men will credit the as- 
sertion that the frequency of this form of de- 
stroying human life exceeds all others by at 
least fifty per cent., and that not more than one 
in a thousand of the guilty parties receive any 
punishment by the hand of civil law. But there 
is a surer mode of punishment for the guilty 
mother in the self-executing laws of nature." -J - 

" From a very large verbal and written corre- 
spondence in this and other States, I am satisfied 
that we have become a nation of murderers? % 

Said a distinguished clergyman of Brooklyn, 
in a sermon, "Why send missionaries to India 
when child-murder is here of daily, almost hour- 
ly, occurrence ; aye, when the hand that puts 
money into the contribution-box to-day, yester- 
day or a month ago, or to-morrow, will murder 
her own unborn offspring ? 

* Gardner. f Black. % Reamy. 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 187 

" The Hindoo mother, when she abandons her 
babe upon the sacred Ganges, is, contrary to her 
heart, obeying a supposed religious law, and you 
desire to convert her to your own worship of the 
Moloch of Fashion and Laziness and love of 
Greed. Out upon such hypocrisy !" 

Writers tell us that it has even become the 
boast of many women that they "know too 
much to have babies." 

Causes of the Crime. — Many influences may 
combine to cause the mother ruthlessly to de- 
stroy her helpless child : as, to conceal the re- 
sults of sin ; to avoid the burdens of maternity ; 
to secure ease and freedom to travel, etc., or even 
from a false idea that maternity is vulgar ; but 
it is true, beyond all question, that the primary 
cause of the sin is far back of all these influ- 
ences. The most unstinted and scathing invec- 
tives are used in characterizing the criminality 
of a mother who takes the life of her unborn 
babe ; but a word is seldom said of the one who 
forced upon her the circumstances which gave 
the unfortunate one existence. Though doctors, 
ministers, and moralists have said much on this 
subject, and written more, it is reasonable to 
suppose that they will never accomplish much 
of anything in the direction of reform until they 
recognize the part the man acts in all of these 
sad cases, and begin to demand reform where it 
is most needed, and where its achievement will 



188 SEXUAL LIFE. 

effect the most good. As was observed in the 
remarks upon the subject of "Prevention of 
Conception/' this evil has its chief origin in 
"marital excesses," and in a disregard of the 
natural law which makes the female the sole 
proprietor of her own body, and gives to her 
the right to refuse the approaches of the male 
when unprepared to receive them without doing 
violence to the laws of her being. 

This subject is clearly presented in the follow- 
ing remarks : — 

" The wife finds she is pregnant. On discov- 
ering the fact, it becomes repulsive to her nature. 
She is not prepared to bear the cross and endure 
the crucifixion. Instantly her soul is filled with 
murderous intent. She resolves to nip and crush 
the opening bud of life — to procure abortion — 
that is, to commit the deed of ante-natal child- 
murder. She does not feel that it is her child. 
She may regard it as yours, but she cannot ac- 
knowledge it as her own ; and though it must 
receive its gestational development in her organ- 
ism, she cannot tenderly and lovingly cherish 
and guard it as bone of her bone, flesh of her 
flesh, and soul of her soul. It is so in fact, but 
not in her feelings. She asked not for it ; her 
soul repels it as an intruder, thrust upon her 
without her consent, and in contempt, it may be, 
of her earnest remonstrance — for thus it often is. 
The child, she feels, has no right to an existence 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 189 

at her expense. An uninvited and hated in- 
truder is exhausting her vital energies and rob- 
bing her of that which no earthly treasures can 
ever restore or recompense. Through her phys- 
ical suffering and mental anguish an unbidden 
and loathed guest is feeding and thriving on her 
heart's blood. Desperation and the bitterness of 
death are in her heart. Murder fills her soul 
toward your unconscious and innocent babe. 

" Who is responsible ? On whom rests the 
guilt ? It is your work. You forced that 
heavy burden upon her, and compelled her to 
bear it. You thrust your child as an intruder 
into the sacred domain of her life, to derive ex- 
istence through her organism and at her expense, 
knowing that she was not prepared to welcome 
it, and to bend the forces of her nature to its 
growth and support, and contrary, it may be, to 
her earnest entreaties that she might be spared 
this pain and anguish till she was ready joyfully 
to welcome them. But you heeded not her 
prayer ; you assumed the right to decide for her 
when she was prepared to endure these trials, 
and under what circumstances she should be a 
mother. You must have your stated gratifica- 
tion ; you have abused your manhood and your 
wife till this indulgence, as you think, has be- 
come as essential a want of your life as your 
daily food — as the drunkard feels that alcohol is 
as essential as air to his existence and happiness ; 



190 SEXUAL LIFE. 

and so you impose on her a maternity which her 
soul abhors. You horribly tax her vital energies 
( without her consent.' Murder is in her heart to- 
ward the uninvited and hated intruder you have 
introduced into the sanctuary of her life. 

" What else do you do when you impose on 
your wife a maternity unasked and abhorred ? 
You commit the development and education of 
your child, during the most important and sus- 
ceptible period of its existence, to one who as- 
sures you she is not prepared for the charge, 
who entreats you to spare her, and who loathes 
the very thought of its existence. Every ele- 
ment of her womanly nature, for the time being, 
recoils from its presence in her system. She 
pleads that you would spare her this burden at 
this time, and until her nature calls for it and is 
prepared joyfully to meet the martyrdom ma- 
ternity must bring to her. Heedless of her 
prayers, and it may be of threats of death to 
your child, you demand the surrender of her per- 
son to your passion. Maternity ensues. Mur- 
der enters her heart toward your child at the 
same time. She tries to ' get rid of it ' — to mur- 
der it. She succeeds. The young life you had 
committed to her care is nipped in the bud, as 
you were assured it would be before you resigned 
it to her keeping. Where rests the responsibil- 
ity ? On you, primarily and mainly. You mur- 
dered your own child — not, indeed, with your 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 191 

own hands ; you drove another to do the des- 
perate deed, and that other your wife, who came 
to you with a loving and trusting heart to saA^e 
and be saved ; and you, to gratify your selfish 
passion, drove her to the commission of the 
crime of ante-natal child-murder — a crime that 
must forever weigh upon her soul like a mount- 
ain of guilt and shame — a deed after the doing 
of which no true woman can ever in this life 
stand proud and stainless, in conscious innocence 
and dignity, before the tribunal of her woman- 
hood." * 

The Nature of the Crime. — 'The married 
and well-to-do, who by means of medicines 
and operations produce abortions at early peri- 
ods of pregnancy, have no excuse except the pre- 
tense that they do not consider it murder until 
the child quickens." 

"No, not murder, you say, for 'there has not been 
any life in the child.' Do not attempt to evade, 
even to man, a crime which cannot be hidden 
from the All-seeing. The poor mother has not 
herself felt the life of the child perhaps, but that 
is a quibble only of the laws of man, founded in- 
deed upon the view, now universally recognized 
as incorrect, that the child's life began when its 
movements were first strong enough to be per- 
ceptible. There is, in fact, no moment after con- 
ception when it can be said that the child has 

* Wright. 



192 SEXUAL LIFE. 



not life, and the crime of destroying human life 
is as heinous and as sure before the period of 
' quickening ' has been attained as afterward. 
But you still defend your horrible deed by say- 
ing, ' Well, if there be, as you say, this mere ani- 
mal life, equivalent at the most to simple vital- 
ity, there is no mind, no soul destroyed, and 
therefore, there is no crime committed.' Just so 
surely as one would destroy and root out of ex- 
istence all the fowl in the world by destroying 
all the eggs in existence, so certain is it that you 
do by your act destroy the animal man in the 
egg, and the soul which animates it. When is 
the period that intelligence comes to the infant ? 
Are its feeble first stragglings any evidence of 
its presence ? Has it any appreciable quantity 
at birth ? Has it any valuable, useful quantity 
even when a year old ? When, then, is it, that 
destruction is harmless or comparatively sinless ? 
While awaiting your metaphysical answer, I will 
tell you when it is sinful. Murder is always 
sinful, and murder is the willful destruction of a 
human being at any period of its existence, from 
its earliest germinal embryo to its final, simple, 
animal existence in aged decrepitude and com- 
plete mental imbecility." * 

" There are those who would fain make light 
of this crime by attempting to convince them- 
selves and others that a child, while in embryo, 



* Gardner. 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 193 

has only a sort of vegetative life, not yet endowed 
with thought, and the ability to maintain an in- 
dependent existence. If such a monstrous phi- 
losophy as this presents any justification for such 
an act, then the killing of a newly-born infant, 
or of an idiot, may be likewise justified. The 
destruction of the life of an unborn human be- 
ing, for the reason that it is small, feeble, and 
innocently helpless, rather aggravates than pal- 
liates the crime. Every act of this kind, with 
its justification, is obviously akin to that savage 
philosophy which accounts it a matter of no 
moment, or rather a duty, to destroy feeble in- 
fants, or old, helpless fathers and mothers." * 

Instruments of Crime.— " The means through 
which abortions are effected are various. Some- 
times it is through potent drugs, extensively ad- 
vertised in newspapers claiming to be moral ! — the 
advertisements so adroitly worded as to convey 
under a caution the precise information required 
of the liability of the drug to produce miscar- 
riages. Sometimes the information is conveyed 
through secret circulars ; but more commonly the 
deed is consummated by professed abortionists, 
who advertise themselves as such through innu- 
endo, or through gaining this kind of repute by 
the frequent commission of the act. Not a few 
women, deterred by lingering modesty or some 
sense of shame, attempt and execute it upon 

Sex. Life. 13 -Black. 



194 SEXUAL LIFE. 

themselves, and then volunteer to instruct and 
encourage others to go and do likewise." * 

Results of this Unnatural Crime.— It is the 

universal testimony of physicians that the effects 
of abortion are almost as deadly upon the mother 
as upon the child. The amount of suffering is 
vastly greater ; for that of the child, if it suffer 
at all, is only momentary, in general, while the 
mother is doomed to a life of suffering, of mis- 
ery, if she survives the shock of the terrible out- 
rage against her nature. It has been proved by 
statistics that the danger of immediate death is 
fifteen times as great as in natural childbirth. 
A medical author of note asserts that a woman 
suffers more injury from one abortion than she 
would from twenty normal births. Says Dr. 
Gardner on this point : — 

" We know that the popular idea is, that 
women are worn out by the toil and wear con- 
nected with the raising of large families, and we 
can willingly concede something to this state- 
ment; but it is certainly far more observable 
that the efforts at the present day, made to 
avoid propagation, are ten thousand-fold more 
disastrous to the health and constitution, to say 
nothing of the demoralization of mind and heart, 
which cannot be estimated by red cheeks or 
physical vigor." 

Dr. Black makes the following statement of 
the physical results to the mother : — 

* Black. 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 195 

" The great majority of those who submit to 
this crime drag through life in miserable health, 
victims to painful irregularities, to slow and ob- 
stinate irritations, or to a predisposition of the 
maltreated parts to take on disease from the 
slightest exposure and exertion. Frequently the 
constitutional shock is so severe that the strength 
is never fully recovered, the victim presenting a 
striking and permanent absence of all the marks 
of health and vigor. Even in some instances in 
which the transgressor flatters herself that she is 
uninjured, there is an insidious and terrible dis- 
ease forming in the generative organs, which only 
awaits the waning of the general strength and 
energies to burst forth into torturing and incur- 
able activity. I allude to that fearful disease, 
cancer of the womb, — a disease which, Dr. Storer 
states, has for one of its most ordinary causes 
the impaired vitality arising from the produc- 
tion of abortions. The injury and irritation pro- 
duced in the womb by this violence are long- 
held back by the strong vitality which prevails 
at the prime of life;- but as soon as this vigor 
commences to decline, or about the fortieth year, 
the disease grows as the energies fail, — the can- 
cerous fangs penetrating deeper and deeper, un- 
til, after excruciating suffering, the writhing vic- 
tim is yielded up to its terrible embrace." 

An Unwelcome Child. — But suppose the moth- 
er does not succeed in her attempts against the 



196 SEXUAL LIFE. 

life of her child, as she may not ; what fearful 
results may follow ! Who can doubt that the 
murderous intent of the mother will be stamped 
indelibly upon the character of the unwelcome 
child, giving it a natural propensity for the com- 
mission of murderous deeds ? 

Then again — sickening thought — suppose the 
attempts to destroy the child are unsuccessful, 
resulting only in horrid mutilation of its tender 
form ; when such a child is born, what terrible 
evidences may it bear in its crippled and mis- 
shapen body of the cruel outrage perpetrated 
upon it ! That such cases do occur is certain 
from the following narrative, which we might 
confirm by others similar in character : — 

" A lady, determined not to have any more 
children, went to a professed abortionist, and 
he attempted to effect the desired end by vio- 
lence. With a pointed instrument the attempt 
was again and again made, but without the 
looked-for result. So vigorously was the effort 
made, that, astonished at no result being ob- 
tained, the individual stated that there must 
be some mistake, that the lady could not be 
pregnant, and refused to perform any further 
operations. Partially from doubt and partially 
from fear, nothing further was attempted ; and 
in due process of time the woman was delivered 
of au infant, shockingly mutilated, with one 
eye entirely put out, and the brain so injured 



INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION. 197 

that this otherwise robust child was entirely 
wanting in ordinary sense. This poor mother, 
it would seem, needs no future punishment for 
her sin. Ten years face to face with this poor 
idiot, whose imbecility was her direct work — 
has it not punished her sufficiently ?" 

The Remedy. — Whether this gigantic evil 
can ever be eradicated, is exceedingly doubtful. 
To effect its cure would be to make refined 
Christians out of brutal sensualists ; to emanci- 
pate woman from the enticing, alluring slavery 
of fashion ; to uproot false ideas of life and its 
duties, — in short, to revolutionize society. The 
crime is perpetrated in secret. Many times no 
one but the criminal herself is cognizant of the 
evil deed. Only occasionally do cases come near 
enough to the surface to be dimly discernible ; 
hence the evident inefficiency of any civil legis- 
lation. But the evil is a desperate one, and is 
increasing ; shall no attempt be made to check 
the tide of crime and save the sufferers from 
both physical and spiritual perdition ? An ef- 
fort should be made, at least. Let every Chris- 
tian raise the note of warning. From every 
Christian pulpit let the truth be spoken in terms 
too plain for misapprehension. Let those who 
are known to be guilty of this most revolting 
crime be looked upon as murderers, as they are ; 
and let their real moral status be distinctly 
shown. 



198 SEXUAL LIFE, 

All of these means will do something to ef- 
fect a reform ; but the radical cure of the evil 
will only be found in the principles suggested in 
the section devoted to the consideration of " Mar- 
ital Excesses." The adoption of those princi- 
ples and strict adherence to them would effectu- 
ally prevent the occurrence of circumstances 
which are the occasion of abortions and infanti- 
cides. 

Murder by Proxy. — "There is, at the pres- 
ent time, a kind of infanticide, which, although 
it is not so well known, is even more danger- 
ous, because done with impunity. There are 
parents who recoil with horror at the idea of 
destroying their offspring, although they would 
greatly desire to be disembarrassed of them, who 
yet place them without remorse with nurses 
who enjoy the sinister reputation of never re- 
turning the children to those who have intrusted 
them to their care. These unfortunate little be- 
ings are condemned to perish from inanition and 
bad treatment. 

"The number of these innocent victims is 
greater than would • be imagined, and very cer- 
tainly exceeds that of the marked infanticides 
sent by the public prosecutor to the Court of the 
Assizes." 



The Social Evil, 



Illicit intercourse has been a foul blot upon 
humanity from the earliest periods of history. 
At the present moment, it is a loathsome ulcer 
eating at the heart of civilization, a malignant 
leprosy which shows its hideous deformities 
among the fairest results of modern culture. 
Our large cities abound with dens of vice whose 
habitues shamelessly promenade the most public 
streets and flaunt their infamy in the face of ev- 
ery passer-by. In many large cities, especially in 
those of Continental Europe, these holds of vice 
are placed under the supervision of the law by 
the requirement that every keeper of a house of 
prostitution must pay for a license ; in other 
words, must buy the right to lead his fellow- 
men " down to the depths of hell." 

In smaller cities, as well as in large ones, in 
fact, from the great metropolis down to the coun- 
try village, the haunts of vice are found. Every 
army is flanked by bands of courtesans. Where- 
ever men go, loose women follow, penetrating 
even to the wildness of the miner's camp, far 
beyond the verge of civilization. 

But brothels and traveling strumpets do not 
fully represent the vast extent of this monster 

199 



200 SEXUAL LIFE, 

evil. There is a class of immoral women — prob- 
ably exceeding in numbers the grosser class just 
referred to — who consider themselves respecta- 
ble ; indeed, who are considered very respecta- 
ble. Few are acquainted with their character. 
They live in elegant style, and mingle in genteel 
society. Privately, they prosecute the most un- 
bounded licentiousness, for the purpose of gain, 
or merely to gratify their lewdness. " Kept mis- 
tresses " are probably more numerous than com- 
mon prostitutes. 

The numerous scandal and divorce suits, which 
expose the infidelity of husbands and wives, are 
sufficient evidence that illicit commerce is not 
confined to the unmarried ; but so many are the 
facilities for covering and preventing the results 
of sins of this description it is impossible to 
form any just estimate of their frequency. The 
incontinence of husbands and the unchastity of 
wives will only appear in their enormity at that 
awful day when every one shall " stand before 
the judgment-seat of God " and hear the re- 
hearsal of his guilty deeds. 

We are prone to believe that the present is 
the most licentious age the world has ever 
known ; that in the nineteenth century the cli- 
max of evil has been reached ; that the libidi- 
nous blood of all the ages has culminated to pro- 
duce a race of men more carnal than all prede- 
cessors. It is a sickening thought that any pre- 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 201 

vious epoch could have been more vile than 
this ; but history presents facts which disclose 
in ancient times periods when unbridled lust 
was even more uncontrolled than now : when 
vice was universal ; and when virtue was a 
thing unknown. A few references to historical 
facts will establish this point. We do not make 
these allusions in any way to justify the present 
immorality, but to show the part which vice has 
acted in the overthrow of nations. 

From the sacred record we may judge that be- 
fore the flood a state of corruption prevailed 
which was even greater and more general than 
any that has ever since been reached ; only eight 
persons were fit to survive the calamity which 
swept into eternity that lustful generation with 
their filthy deeds. 

But men soon fell into vice again, for we find 
amono- the earlv Assvrians a total disregard of 
chastity. Her kings reveled in the grossest sen- 
suality. 

No excess of vice could surpass the licentious- 
ness of the Ptolemies, who made of Alexandria 
a bagnio, and all Egypt a hot-bed of vice. He- 
rodotus relates that " the pyramid of Cheops was 
built by the lovers of the daughter of this king ; 
and that she never would have raised this mon- 
ument to such a height except by multiplying 
her prostitutions/' History also relates the ad- 
ventures of that queenly courtesan, Cleopatra, 



202 SEXUAL LIFE. 

who captivated and seduced by her charms two 
masters of the world, and whose lewdness sur- 
passed even her beauty. 

Tyre and Sidon, Media, Phoenicia, Syria, and 
all the Orient were sunk in sensuality. Forni- 
cation was made a part of their worship. Wom- 
en carried through the streets of the cities the 
most obscene and revolting representations. 
Among all these nations a virtuous woman was 
not to be found ; for, according to Herodotus, 
the young women were by the laws of the land 
" obliged, once in their lives, to give themselves 
up to the desires of strangers in the temple 
of Venus, and were not permitted to refuse any 
one. * 

St. Augustine speaks of these religious de- 
baucheries as still practiced in his day in Phoeni- 
cia. They were even continued until Constan- 
tine destroyed the temples in which they were 
prosecuted, in the fourth century. 

Among the Greeks the same corruptions pre- 
vailed in the worship of Bacchus and Phallus, 
which was celebrated by processions of half- 
nude girls "performing lascivious dances with 
men disguised as satyrs." In fact, as X. Bour- 
geois says, " Prostitution was in repute in 
Greece." The most distinguished women were 
courtesans, and the wise Socrates would be justly 
called, in modern times, a libertine. 

The abandonment to lust was, if possible, still 

* Bourgeois. 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 203 

more complete in the times of the emperors. 
Rome astonished the universe " by the boldness 
of its turpitudes, after having astonished it by 
the splendor of its triumphs." 

The great Caesar was such a rake that he has 
been said to have " merited to be surnamed ev- 
ery woman's husband." Antony and Augustus 
were equally notorious. The same sensuality 
pervaded the masses as reigned in the courts, 
and was stimulated by the erotic poems of Ovid, 
Catullus, and other poets of the time. 

Tiberius displayed such ingenuity in invent- 
ing refinements in impudicity that it was nec- 
essary to coin new words to designate them. 
Caligula committed the horrid crime of incest 
with all his sisters, even in public. His palace 
was a brothel. The Roman empress, Messalina, 
disguised herself as a prostitute and excelled the 
most degraded courtesans in her monstrous de- 
baucheries. Nero was accustomed to take an 
emetic after having eaten to repletion, to enable 
him to renew his gluttony. With still grosser 
sensuality he stimulated his satiated passions 
with philters and various aphrodisiac mixtures. 

If this degraded voluptuousness had been con- 
fined to royalty, some respect might yet be en- 
tertained for the virtue of the ancients ; but the 
foul infection was not restrained within such 
narrow bounds. It invaded the whole empire, 
until it fell in pieces from very rottenness. 



204 SEXUAL LIFE. 

What must have been the condition of a nation 
that could tolerate such a spectacle as its mon- 
arch riding through the streets of its metropo- 
lis in a state of nudity, drawn by women in the 
same condition ? Such a deed did Heliogabalus 
in Rome. 

In the thirteenth century, virtue was almost 
as scarce in France as in ancient Greece. No- 
bles held as mistresses all the young girls of their 
domains. About every fifth man was a bastard. 
Just before the Revolution, chastity was such a 
rarity that a woman was actually obliged to 
apologize for being virtuous ! 

In these disgusting facts we find one of the 
most potent agents in effecting the downfall of 
the nations. Licentiousness sapped their vital- 
ity and weakened their prowess. The men 
who conquered the world were led captive by 
their own beastly passions. Thus the Assyrians, 
the Medes, the Grecians, the Romans, succes- 
sively fell victims to their lusts and gave way to 
more virtuous successors. Even the Jews, the 
most enlightened people of their age, fell more 
than once through this same sin, which was 
coupled with idolatry, of which their seduction 
by the Midianites is an example. 

Surely, modern times present no worse specta- 
cles of carnality than these ; and will it be 
claimed that anything so vile is seen among 
civilized nations at the present day ? But 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 205 

though there may be less grossness in the sen- 
suality of to-day, the moral turpitude of men 
may be even greater than that of ancient times. 
Enlightened Christianity has raised the standard 
of morality. Christ's commentary upon the sev- 
enth commandment requires a more rigorous 
chastity than ancient standards demanded, even 
among the Jews ; for had not David, Solomon, 
and even the pious Jacob more wives than one ? 
Consequently, a slight breach of chastity now, re- 
quires as great a fall from virtue as a greater 
lapse in ages past, and must be attended with 
as severe a moral penalty. 

We have seen how universal is the " social 
evil," that it is a vice almost as old as man him- 
self, which shows how deeply rooted in his per- 
verted nature it has become. The inquiry arises, 
What are the causes of so monstrous a vice ? so 
gross an outrage upon nature's laws ? so with- 
ering a blight upon the race ? 

Causes of the "Social Evil."— A vice that 
has become so great an evil, even in these en- 
lightened times, as to defy the most skillful leg- 
islation, which openly displays its gaudy filthi- 
ness and mocks at virtue with a lecherous stare, 
must have its origin in causes too powerful to 
be ignored. 

Libidinous Blood. — In no other direction are 
the effects of heredity to be so distinctly traced 
as in the transmission of sensual propensities. 



206 SEXUAL LIFE. 

The children of libertines are almost certain to 
be rakes and prostitutes. History affords nu- 
merous examples in illustration of this fact. 
The daughter of Augustus was as unchaste as 
her father, and her daughter was as immoral as 
herself. The sons of David showed evident 
traces of their father's failing. Witness the in- 
cest of Amnon, and the voluptuousness of Solo- 
mon, who had seven hundred wives and three 
hundred concubines. Solomon's son was, like- 
wise, a noted polygamist, of whom the record 
says, " he desired many wives." His son's son 
manifested the same propensity in taking as 
many wives as the debilitated state of his king- 
dom enabled him to support. But perhaps we 
may be allowed to trace the origin of this libid- 
inous propensity still farther back. A glance 
at the genealogy of David will show that he 
was descended from Judah through Pharez, who 
was the result of an incestuous union between 
Judah and his daughter-in-law. 

Is it unreasonable to suppose that the abnormal 
passion which led David to commit the most 
heinous sin of his life in his adultery with Bath- 
sheba and subsequently procuring the death of 
her husband, was really a hereditary propen- 
sity which had come down to him through his 
ancestors, and which, under more favorable cir- 
cumstances, was more fully developed in his 
sons ? The trait may have been kept dormant 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 207 

by the active and simple habits of his early 
years, but asserted itself in full force under the 
fostering influence of royal idleness and luxury. 
In accordance with the known laws of heredity, 
such a tendency would be the legitimate result 
of such a combination of circumstances. 

The influence of marital excesses, and es- 
pecially sexual indulgence during pregnancy, in 
producing vicious tendencies in offspring, has 
been fully dwelt upon elsewhere in this work, 
and will not be reconsidered here, it being only 
necessary to call attention to the subject. Phys- 
iology shows conclusively that thousands of 
parents whose sons have become libertines and 
their daughters courtesans, have themselves im- 
planted in their characters the propensity which 
led them to their unchastity. 

Gluttony. — As a predisposing cause, the influ- 
ence of dietetic habits should rank next to hered- 
ity. It is an observed fact that " all libertines 
are great eaters or famous gastronomists/' The 
exciting influence upon the genital organs of 
such articles as pepper, mustard, ginger, spices, 
truffles, wine, and all alcoholic drinks, is well 
known. Tea and coffee directly excite the ani- 
mal passions through their influence upon the 
nerve centers controlling the sexual organs. 
When children are raised upon such articles, or 
upon food with which they are thoroughly min- 
gled, what wonder that they occasionally " turn 



208 SEXUAL LIFE. 

out bad"? How many mothers, while they 
teach their children the principles of virtue in 
the nursery, unwittingly stimulate their passions 
at the dinner table until vice becomes almost a 
physical necessity ! 

Nothing tends so powerfully to keep the pas- 
sions in abeyance as a simple diet, free from con- 
diments, especially when coupled with a gener- 
ous amount of exercise. 

The influence of tobacco in leading to unchas- 
tity has been referred to in another connection. 
This is assuredly a not uncommon cause. When 
a boy places the first cigar or quid of tobacco to 
his lips, he takes — if he has not previously done 
so — the first step in the road to infamy ; and if 
he adds wine or beer, he takes a short cut to the 
degradation of his manhood by the loss of vir- 
tue. 

Precocious Sexuality. — The causes of a too 
early development of sexual peculiarities, as 
manifested in infantile flirtations and early signs 
of sexual passion, were dwelt upon quite fully in 
a previous connection, and we need not repeat 
them here. Certain it is that few things can be 
more dangerous to virtue than the premature 
development of those sentiments which belong 
only to puberty and later years. It is a most 
unnatural, but not uncommon, sight to see a girl 
of tender age evincing all those characters which 
mark the wanton of older years. 



THE SOCIAL EVIL, 209 

Man's Lewdness. — It cannot be denied that 
men are in the greatest degree responsible for 
the " social evil." The general principle holds 
true here as elsewhere that the supply is regu- 
lated by the demand. If the patrons of prosti- 
tution should withdraw their support by a sud- 
den acquisition of virtue, how soon w T ould this 
vilest of traffics cease ! The inmates of brothels 
would themselves become continent, if not vir- 
tuous, as the result of such a spasm of chastity in 
men. 

Again, the ranks of fallen women, which are 
rapidly thinned by loathsome diseases and hor- 
rid deaths, are largely recruited from that class 
of unfortunates for whose fall faithless lovers or 
cunning, heartless libertines are chiefly responsi- 
ble. The weak girl who, through too much 
trust, has been deceived and robbed of her dear- 
est treasure, is disowned by relatives, shunned 
by her acquaintances, and turned out upon 
a cold world without money, without friends, 
without a character. What can she do ? Re- 
spectable employment she cannot find, for ru- 
mor follows her. There seems to be but one 
door open, the one which she herself so uninten- 
tionally opened. In despair, she enters the 
"open road to hell," and to her first sad er- 
ror adds a life of shame. Meanwhile, the vil- 
lain who betrayed her still maintains his stand- 
ing in society, and plies his arts to win another 

Sex. Life. 1^ 



210 SEXUAL LIFE, 



victim. Is there not an unfair discrimination 
here ? Should not the seducer be blackened 
with an infamy at least as deep as that which 
society casts upon the one betrayed ? 

Fashion. — The temptation of dress, fine cloth- 
ing, costly jewelry, and all the extravagances 
with which rich ladies array themselves, is 
in many cases too powerful for the weakened 
virtue of poor seamstresses, operatives, and serv- 
ant girls who have seen so much of vice as to 
have lost that instinctive loathing for it which 
they may have once experienced. Thinking to 
gain a life of ease, with means to gratify their 
love of show, they barter away their peace of 
mind for this world, all hope for the next, and 
only gain a little worthless tinsel, the scorn of 
their fellow- creatures, and a host of loathsome 
diseases. 

Lack of Early Training. — It is needless to 
demonstrate a fact so well established as that 
the future character of an individual depends 
very largely upon his early training. If purity 
and modesty are taught from earliest infancy, 
the mind is fortified against the assaults of vice. 
If, instead, the child is allowed to grow up un- 
trained, if the seeds of vice which are sure to 
fall sooner or later in the most carefully kept 
ground are allowed to germinate, if the first 
buds of evil are allowed to grow and unfold 
instead of being promptly nipped, it must not 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 211 

be considered remarkable that in later years 
rank weeds of sin should flourish in the soul 
and bear their hideous fruit in shameless lives. 

Neglect to guard the avenues by which evil may 
approach the young mind, and to erect barriers 
against vice by careful instruction and a chaste 
example, leaves many innocent souls open to the 
assaults of evil, and an easy prey to lust. If 
children are allowed to get their training in the 
street, at the corner grocery, or hovering around 
saloons, they will be sure to develop a vigorous 
growth of the animal passions. The following 
extract is from the writings of one whose pen 
has been an inestimable blessing to American 
youth : — 

" Among the first lessons which boys learn of 
their fellows are impurities of language ; and 
these are soon followed by impurities of thought. 
. . . When this is the training of boyhood, it 
is not strange that the predominating ideas 
among young men, in relation to the other sex, 
are too often those of impurity and sensuality. 
. . . We cannot be surprised, then, that the 
history of most young men is, that they yield 
to temptation in a greater or less degree, and in 
different Mays. With many, no doubt, the in- 
dulgence is transient, accidental, and does not 
become habitual. It does not o*et to be regarded 
as venial. It is never yielded to without re- 
morse. The wish and the purpose are to resist, 



212 SEXUAL LIFE. 

but the animal nature bears down the moral. 
Still, transgression is always followed by grief 
and penitence. 

" With too many, however, it is to be feared, 
it is not so. The mind has become debauched 
by dwelling on licentious images, and by in- 
dulgence in licentious conversation. There is no 
wish to resist. They are not overtaken by temp- 
tation, for they seek it. With them the trans- 
gression becomes habitual, and the stain on the 
character is deep and lasting."* 

Sentimental Literature. — In another con- 
nection, we have referred particularly to the 
bawdy, obscene books and pictures which are se- 
cretly circulated among the youth of both sexes, 
and to their corrupting influence. The hope is 
not entirely a vain one that this evil may be 
controlled ; but there seems no possible practica- 
ble remedy for another evil which ultimately 
leads to the same result, though by less gross 
and obscene methods. We refer to the senti- 
mental literature which floods the land. City 
and school libraries, circulating libraries, and 
even Sunday-school libraries, are full of books 
which, though they may contain good moral 
teaching, contain, as well, an element as incom- 
patible with purity of morals as is light with 
midnight darkness. Writers for children and 
youth seem to think a tale of " courtship, love, 

* Ware. 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 213 

and matrimony " entirely indispensable as a me- 
dium for conveying their moral instruction. 
Some of these - religious novels " are actually 
more pernicious than the fictions of well-known 
novelists who make no pretense to having relig- 
ious instruction a particular object in view. 
Sunday-school libraries are not often wholly 
composed of this class of works, but any one 
who takes the trouble to examine the books of 
such a library will be able to select the most 
pernicious ones by the external appearance. 
The covers will be well worn and the edges be- 
grimmed with dirt from much handling. Chil- 
dren soon tire of the shallow sameness which 
characterizes the " moral " parts of most of these 
books, and skim lightly over them, selecting and 
devouring with eagerness those portions which 
relate the silly narrative of some love adventure. 
This kind of literature arouses in children pre- 
mature fancies and queries, and fosters a senti- 
mentalism which too often occasions most un- 
happy results. Through their influence, young 
girls are often led to begin a life of shame long- 
before their parents are aware that a thought of 
evil has ever entered their minds. 

Poverty. — The pressing influence of poverty 
has been urged as one cause of prostitution. It 
cannot be denied that in many cases, in large 
cities, this may be the immediate occasion of the 
entrance of a young girl upon a life of shame ; 



214 SEXUAL LIFE. 



but it may still be insisted that there must have 
been, in such cases, a deficiency in previous train- 
ing, for a young woman, educated with a proper 
regard for purity, would sooner sacrifice life it- 
self than virtue. Again, poverty can be no ex- 
cuse, for in every city there are made provisions 
for the relief of the needy poor, and none who 
are really worthy need suffer. 

Ignorance. — Perhaps nothing fosters vice more 
than ignorance. Prostitutes come almost entirely 
from the more ignorant classes, though there are, 
of course, many exceptions. Among the lowest 
classes, vice is seen in its grossest forms, and is 
carried to the greatest lengths. Intellectual cul- 
ture is antagonistic to sensuality. As a general 
rule, in proportion as the intellect is developed, 
the animal passions are brought into subjection. 
It is true that very intellectual men have been 
great libertines, and that the licentious Borgias 
and Medicis of Italy encouraged art and litera- 
ture ; but these are only apparent exceptions, 
for who knows to what greater depths of vice 
these individuals might have sunk had it not 
been for the restraining influence of mental cul- 
ture ? 

Says Deslandes, " In proportion as the intellect 
becomes enfeebled, the generative sensibility is 
augmented." The animal passions seem to sur- 
vive when all higher intelligence is lost. We 
once saw an illustration of this fact in an idiot 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 215 

who was brought before a medical class in a 
clinic at Bellvue Hospital, New York. The pa- 
tient had been an idiot from birth, and presented 
the most revolting appearance, seemingly pos- 
sessing scarcely the intelligence of the average 
dog ; but his animal propensities were so great as 
to be almost uncontrollable. Indeed, he showed 
evidences of having been a gross debauchee, hav- 
ing contracted venereal disease of the worse form. 
The general prevalence of extravagant sexual 
excitement among the insane is a well-known 
fact. 

Disease. — Various diseases which cause local 
irritation and congestion of the reproductive or- 
gans are the causes of unchastity in both sexes, 
as previously explained. It not unfrequently 
happens that by constantly dwelling upon un- 
chaste subjects until a condition of habitual con- 
gestion of the sexual organs is produced, young 
women become seized with a furor for libidinous 
commerce which nothing but the desired object 
will appease, unless active remedial measures 
are adopted under the direction of a skillful 
physician. This disease, known as nymphoma- 
nia, has been the occasion of the fall of many 
young women of the better classes who have 
been bred in luxury and idleness, but were never 
taught even the first lessons of purity or self- 
control. Constipation, piles, worms, pruritis of 
the genitals, and some other less common diseases 



216 SEXUAL LIFE. 

of the urinary and genital systems, have been 
causes of sexual excitement which has resulted 
in moral degradation. 

All the causes of unchastity and incontinence 
before enumerated are the active agents in sup- 
porting the " social evil ;" and not the least 
among them are the unnatural and depraved 
conditions which are created by fashionable so- 
ciety and civilization. The neglect of physical 
development and of sound mental discipline are 
grievous evils which lead surely to evil results. 

" Man finds in society always a renewed source 
of incitements to sensual pleasures. It is in the 
daily intercourse, the keeping company with, the 
continual bringing together of, persons of differ- 
ent sex ; it is in the intimate communication of 
sentiments ; it is in the incessant care of pleasing 
one another. Furthermore, society, with the re- 
finements of civilization — it is a painful thing 
to say — tends only too often to pervert human 
nature." * 

Results of Licentiousness. — Apparently as 
a safeguard to virtue, nature has appended to 
the sin of illicit sexual indulgence, as penalties, 
the most loathsome, deadly, and incurable dis- 
eases known to man. Some of these, as gonor- 
rhoea and chancroid, are purely local diseases ; 
and though they occasion the transgressor a vast 
amount of suffering, they may be cured and 

* Bourgeois. 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 217 

leave no trace of their presence except in the 
conscience of the individual. Such a result, 
however, is by no means the usual one. Most 
frequently, the injury done is more or less per- 
manent ; sometimes it amounts to loss of life or 
serious mutilation, as in cases we have seen. 
And one attack secures no immunity from sub- 
sequent ones, as a new disease may be con- 
tracted upon every exposure. 

By far the worst form of venereal disease is 
syphilis, a malady which was formerly con- 
founded with the two forms of disease men- 
tioned, but from which it is essentially different. 
At first an insignificant local lesion, of no more 
consequence — except from its significance — than 
a small boil, it rapidly infects the whole system, 
poisoning the whole body, and liable forever aft- 
er to develop itself in any one or more of its 
protean forms. The most loathsome sight upon 
which a human eye can rest is a victim of this 
disease who presents it well developed in its 
later stages. In the large Charity Hospital upon 
Blackwell's Island, near New York City, may be 
seen scores of these unfortunates of both sexes, 
exhibiting the horrid disease in all its phases. 
To describe them would be to place before our 
readers a picture too revolting for these pages. 
No pen can describe the woe-begone faces, the 
hopeless air, of these degraded sufferers whose 
repentance has come, alas ! too late. No words 



218 SEXUAL LIFE. 

can convey an adequate idea of their sufferings. 
What remorse and useless regrets add to the 
misery of their wretched existence as they daily 
watch the progress of a malignant ulceration 
which is destroying their organs of speech, or 
burrowing deep into the recesses of the skull, 
penetrating even to the brain itself ! Even the 
bones become rottenness ; foul running sores 
appear on different portions of the body, and 
may even cover it entirely. Perhaps the nose, or 
the tongue, or the lips, or an eye, or some other 
prominent organ, is lost. Still the miserable suf- 
ferer lingers on, life serving only to prolong the 
torture. To many of them, death would be a 
grateful release, even with the fires of retribu- 
tive justice before their eyes ; for hell itself 
could scarcely be more awful punishment than 
that which they daily endure. 

The venturesome youth need not attempt to 
calm his fears by thinking that these are only 
exceptional cases, for this is not the truth. In 
any city, one who has an experienced eye can 
scarcely walk a dozen blocks on busy streets 
without encountering the woeful effects of sexual 
transgression. Neither are these results which 
only come from long-continued violations of the 
laws of chastity. The very first departure from 
virtue may occasion all the worst effects pos- 
sible. 

Another fearful feature of this terrible dis- 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 219 

ease is that when once it invades the system, its 
eradication is impossible. No drug, no chemical, 
can antidote its virulent poison or drive it from 
the system. Various means may smother it, even 
for a life-time ; but yet it is not cured, and the 
patient is never safe from a new outbreak. 
Prof. Bumstead, an acknowleged authority on 
this subject, after observing the disease for many 
years, says that " he never after treatment, how- 
ever prolonged, promises immunity for the fut- 
ure." * Dr. Van Buren, professor of surgery at 
Bellvue Hospital College, New York, bears the 
same testimony. Prof. Van Buren also says that 
he has often seen the disease occur upon the lips 
of young ladies who were entirely virtuous, but 
who were engaged to men who had contracted 
the disease and had communicated it to them by 
the act of kissing. Virtuous wives have not in- 
frequently had their constitutions hopelessly 
ruined by contracting the disease from husbands 
who had themselves been inoculated either be- 
fore or after marriage, by illicit intercourse. 
Several such unfortunate cases have fallen un- 
der our observation, and there is reason to be- 
lieve that they are not infrequent. 

The only hope for one who has contracted this 
disease is to lead a life of perfect continence 
ever after, and by a most careful life, by con- 
forming strictly to the laws of health, by bath- 
ing and dieting, he may possibly avoid the hor- 



220 SEXUAL LIFE. 

rid consequences of the later stages of the 
malady. Mercury will not cure, nor will any 
other poison, as before remarked. 

Hereditary Effects of Venereal Disease, — 

The transgressor is not the only sufferer. If he 
marries, his children, if they survive infancy, 
will in later years show the effects of their fa- 
ther's sin, exhibiting the forms of the disease 
seen in its later stages. Scrofula, consumption, 
cancers, rickets, diseases of the brain and nerves, 
decay of the bones by caries or necrosis, and other 
diseases arise in this way. 

But it generally happens that the child dies 
before birth or lingers out a miserable existence 
of a few days or weeks thereafter. A most piti- 
able sight these little ones are. Their faces look 
as old as children of ten or twelve. Often, their 
bodies become reduced, before death, to the most 
wretched skeletons. Their hollow, feeble cry 
sends a shudder of horror through the listener, 
and impresses indelibly the terrible consequences 
of sexual sin. Plenty of these scrawny infants 
may be seen in the lying-in hospitals. 

No one can estimate how much of the excess- 
ive mortality of infants is owing to this cause. 

In children who survive infancy, its blighting 
influence may be seen in the notched, deformed 
teeth, and other defects ; and very often it will 
be found, upon looking into the mouth of the 



* Venereal Diseases. 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 221 

child, that the soft palate, and perhaps the hard 
palate as well, is in a state of ulceration. There 
is more than a suspicion that this disease may be 
transmitted for several generations, perhaps re- 
maining latent during the life-time of one, and 
appearing in all its virulence in the next. 

Man is the only animal that abuses his sexual 
organization by making it subservient to other 
ends than reproduction ; hence, he is the only 
sufferer from this foul disease, which is one of 
the penalties of such abuse. Attempts have 
been made to communicate the disease to lower 
animals, but without success, even though inoc- 
ulation was practiced. 

Where or when the disease originated, is a 
mystery. It is said to have been introduced 
into France from Naples by French soldiers. 
That it originated spontaneously at some time 
can scarcely be doubted, and that it might origi- 
nate under circumstances of excessive violation 
of the laws of chastity is rendered probable by 
the fact that gonorrhoea, or an infectious disease 
exactly resembling it, is often caused by excess- 
ive indulgence, from which cause it not infre- 
quently occurs in the newly married, giving rise 
to unjust suspicion of infidelity on both sides. 

Read the following from a noted French phy- 
sician : — 

" The father, as well as the mother, communi- 
cates the syphilitic virus to the children. These 



222 SEXUAL LIFE. 

poor little beings are attacked sometimes at their 
birth ; more often it is at the end of a month or 
two, before these morbid symptoms appear. 

" I recall the heart-rending anguish of a moth- 
er whom I assisted at her fifth confinement. 
She related to me her misfortune : ' I have al- 
ready brought into the world four children. 
Alas ! they all died during the first months of 
their existence. A frightful eruption wasted 
them away and killed them. Save me the one 
that is about to be born ! ' cried she, in tears. 
The child that I delivered was sickly and puny. 
A few days after its birth, it had purulent oph- 
thalmia ; then, crusted and ulcerated pustules, a 
few at first, numerous afterward, covered the 
entire surface of the skin. Soon this miserable 
little being became as meager as a skeleton, hid- 
eous to the sight, and died. Having questioned 
the husband, he acknowledged to me that he had 
had syphilis." * 

Cure of the " Social Evil." — With rare ex- 
ceptions, the efforts of civil legislation have been 
directed toward controlling or modifying this 
vice, rather than extirpating it. 

Among other devices adopted with a view to 
effect this, and to mitigate in some degree the 
resulting evils, the issuing of licenses for broth- 
els has been practiced in several large cities. 
One of the conditions of the license makes it ob- 



* Bourgeois. 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 223 

ligatory upon the keepers of houses of ill-repute 
and their inmates to submit to medical examin- 
ation at stated intervals. By this means, it is 
expected to detect the cases of foul disease at 
the outset, and thus to protect others by placing 
the infected individuals under restraint and 
treatment. It will be seen that for many rea- 
sons such examinations could not be effective ; 
but, even if they were, the propriety of this plan 
of dealing with the vice is exceedingly question- 
able, as will appear from the following consider- 
ations : — 

1. The moment that prostitution is placed 
under the protection of law by means of a 
license, it at once loses half its disrepute, and 
becomes respectable, as do gambling and liquor- 
selling under the same circumstances. 

2. Why should so vile a crime as fornication 
be taken under legal protection more than steal- 
ing or the lowest forms of gambling ? Is it not 
a lesser crime against human nature to rob a 
man of his money by theft or by deceit 
and trickery than to snatch from him at one 
fell swoop his health, his virtue, and his peace 
of mind J Why not as well have laws to reg- 
ulate burglary and assassination, allowing the 
perpetrators of those crimes to ply their chosen 
avocations with immunity under certain pre- 
scribed restrictions ; if robbery, for instance, re- 
quiring the thief to leave his victim money 



224 SEXUAL LIFE. 



enough to make his escape to another country, 
or, if murder, directing the assassin to allow his 
intended victim time to repeat a sufficient num- 
ber of Ave Marias to insure his safe transit 
through purgatory or to pay a priest for doing 
the same ? Such a course would not be incon- 
sistent with the policy which legalizes that in- 
famous traffic in human souls, prostitution. 

3. By the use of certain precautionary meas- 
ures the fears of many will be allayed, so that 
thousands whose fear of the consequences of sin 
would otherwise have kept them physically vir- 
tuous, at least, erroneously supposing that the 
cause for fear has been removed, will rush 
madly into a career of vice and will learn only 
too late the folly of their course. 

Prevention the only Cure. — Those who have 
once entered upon a career of sensuality are gen- 
erally so completely lost to all sense of purity 
and right that there is little chance for reform- 
ing them. They have no principle to which to 
appeal. The gratification of lust so degrades the 
soul and benumbs the higher sensibilities that a 
votary of voluptuousness is a most unpromising 
subject for reformatory efforts. The old adage 
that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of 
cure is strikingly exemplified in this case. The 
remedy must be applied before the depths have 
been reached. It was well said by a celebrated 
physician to a young man beginning a life of 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 225 

vice, a You are entering upon a career from 
which you will never turn back." 

The remedy, to be effective, must be applied 
early, the earlier the better. Lessons on chastity 
may be given in early infancy. The remedy may 
be applied even further back than this ; children 
must be virtuously generated. The bearing of 
this point will be fully appreciated in connection 
with the principles established in the preceding 
pages of this work, and which have been else- 
where sufficiently elucidated. 

Children should be early taught to reverence 
virtue, to abhor lust; and boys should be so 
trained that they will associate with the name 
of woman only pure, chaste, and noble thoughts. 
Few things are much more detrimental to the 
character of woman, and more conducive to the 
production of foul imaginations in children, than 
the free discussion of such subjects as the " Beech - 
er scandal" and like topics. The inquisitive 
minds and lively imaginations of childhood pen- 
etrate the rotten mysteries of such foul subjects 
at a much earlier age than many persons imagine. 
The inquiring minds of children will be occupied 
in some way, and it is of the utmost importance 
that they should be early filled with thoughts 
that will lead them to noble and pure actions. 

One important part of early training is the 
cultivation of self-control, and a habit of self- 
denial, whenever right demands it. Another 

Sex. Life. 15 



226 SEXUAL LIFE. 

most essential part of a child's moral training is 
the cultivation of right motives. To present a 
child no higher motives for doing right than the 
hope of securing some pleasant reward, or the 
fear of suffering some terrible punishment, is the 
surest way to make of him a supremely selfish 
man with no higher aim than to secure good to 
himself, no matter what may become of other 
people. And if he can convince himself that 
the pleasure he will secure by the commission of 
a certain act will more than counterbalance the 
probable risk of suffering, he will not hesitate to 
commit it, leaving wholly out of the considera- 
tion the question, Is it right ? or noble ? or 
pure ? A love of right for its own sake is the 
only solid basis upon which to build a moral 
character of any stability. Children should not 
be taught to do right in order to avoid a whip- 
ping, or imprisonment in a dark closet — a 
horrid kind of punishment sometimes resorted 
to — or even to escape " the lake of fire and brim- 
stone." Neither should they be constantly coaxed 
to right-doing by promised rewards, a new toy, 
a book, an excursion, nor even the pleasures 
of Heaven. All of these incentives are selfish, 
and invariably narrow the character and belittle 
life when made the chief motives of action. 
But rather begin at the earliest possible moment 
to instill into the mind a love for right, and 
truth, and purity, and virtue, and an abhorrence 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 227 

for their contraries. Teach the child its obliga- 
tion to do right even if there were no Heaven, 
no rewards ; then will he have a worthy princi- 
ple by which to square his life ; then will he be 
safe from the assaults of passion, of vice, of lust. 
A mind so trained stands upon an eminence from 
which all evil men and devils combined cannot 
displace it so long as it adheres to its noble prin- 
ciples. 

The cultivation of the physical organization 
must not be neglected. Healthful mental disci- 
pline should receive equal attention. By health- 
ful mental discipline is not meant that kind of 
superficial "cramming" and memorizing which 
constitute the training of the average school, but 
sound culture ; a directing of the mind from 
facts to underlying principles ; a development of 
the reasoning powers so as to bring the emotions 
and passions into subjection ; the acquirement of 
the power to concentrate the mind, one of the 
best methods of cultivating self-control, — these 
are some of the objects and results of sound 
culture of the mind. 

To supply the mind with food for pure thoughts, 
the child should be early inspired with a love 
for nature. The perceptives should be trained, 
the child taught to observe closely and accu- 
rately. The study of the natural sciences is a 
most valuable means of elevating the mind above 
grossness and sensuality. To be successful in 



228 SEXUAL LIFE. 



this direction, parents must cultivate a love for 
the same objects themselves. Take the little 
ones into the country — if they are not so fortu- 
nate as to live there — and in the midst of nat- 
ure's glories, point their impressible minds up- 
ward to the Author of all the surrounding love- 
liness. Gather flowers and leaves and call at- 
tention to the peculiarities and special beauties 
of each, and thus arouse curiosity and cultivate 
habits of close observation and attention. 

As children grow older, watch their associa- 
tions. Warn them of evil influences and evil 
practices. Make home so attractive that they 
will enjoy it better than any other place. Cul- 
tivate music ; its mellowing, harmonizing, refin- 
ing influence is too great to be prudently with- 
held. Children naturally love music; and if 
they cannot hear it at home, they will go where 
they can hear it. Supply attractive books of 
natural history, travels, interesting and instruct- 
ive biographies, and almost any other books but 
love-sick novels, and sentimental religious story- 
books. Guard against bad books and bad asso- 
ciates as carefully as though they were deadly 
serpents, for they are, indeed, the artful emissa- 
ries of the " old serpent " himself. A taste once 
formed for reading light literature destroys the 
relish for solid reading ; and usually the taste, 
once lost, is never regained. The fascination of 
bad companionship once formed around a person 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 229 

is broken with the greatest difficulty. Hence 
the necessity for watching for the very begin- 
nings of evil and promptly checking them. 

The mind should be thus fortified against the 
trifles and follies of fashionable life. It should 
be elevated into a sphere far above that occupied 
by those who pass their time in fashionable 
drawing-rooms in silly twaddle, with thrum- 
ming a piano, with listless day-dreaming, or in 
the gratification of perverted tastes and depraved 
instincts in any other of the ways common to 
fashionable life. 

Dr. Bourgeois makes the following admirable 
suggestions relating to the management of the 
youth just entering upon an independent life : — 

" Scarcely entered into society, than the young- 
man is obliged to contend against the tempta- 
tions which entice him from the domestic fire- 
side. The desire for independence, that desire 
to act for himself, to be himself, to taste the lib- 
erty, the novelty, of life, that love of the new, 
of the unknown, have for him irresistible at- 
tractions. 

" The father must know how to temper these 
so natural desires ; not in contending against 
them with a pitiless severity; not in cutting 
their wings, in making martyrs of these inclina- 
tions ; but in directing them properly, in di- 
recting them toward the beautiful, the good, the 
true. The young man must serve an appren- 



230 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ticeship to life, and we do not know how many 
perils there are in liberty. Let him know them, 
then, in order to shun them ; let him feel, let 
him see, let him experience, by himself, for he 
has need of experience, in order to become him- 
self the head of the family. But let the eye of 
the father watch, let his hand be extended, in 
order to save him. 

" Seek to be the watchful and not too severe 
guide, the indulgent friend and not the rigid 
mentor, and in that way become the chosen con- 
fidant of the son ; such is the truly salutary 
office of the father. The disorders of our times 
arise from the fact that the family is no more. 
Let him endeavor to retain him at the domestic 
fireside. Acting thus, he will preserve him from 
easily acquired, baneful, dangerous friendships ; 
he will keep him away from withering passions. 
The young man who loves his family respects 
himself, for he fears to make them blush or 
weep. 'What son/ says Silvio Pellico, 'will 
sleep in the drunkenness of his culpable enjoy- 
ments, if he thinks of his mother who follows 
his footsteps trembling, prays in secret for him, 
and is afflicted ?" 

The same author adds the following sugges- 
tions in regard to the training of the young 
crirl : — 

o 

" We ought to prepare her for an active and 
serious life, without too much constraint upon 



THE SOCIAL EVIL. 231 

the scope of her imagination ; to cultivate her 
mind and accustom it to beautiful things, with- 
out favoring pedantic enthusiasm ; to bring her 
up at the domestic fireside, without rendering her 
a stranger to the usages and the elegance of so- 

O o o 

ciety. 

" We should inspire her with simplicity in her 
dress. Luxury is always out of place in her; 
good taste and virtue reveal themselves in the 
art of dress. 

" It is not forbidden to a young girl to seek 
to please, but let her avoid that perfidious co- 
quetry that counts its exploits by the number of 
its victims. 

" In order to preserve her innocence, that se- 
cret and innate grace, the peculiar property of 
woman, the mother enlightens and instructs her 
little by little, avoiding to leave her in simple 
ignorance of all things. She gives her prudent 
lessons, serious warnings, in order to prepare her 
for the part she will fill later in a new family. 
She allows her the discreet use of society, ac- 
cords to her a prudent, enlightened liberty, 
which fortifies her virtue. Confiding in her nat- 
ural candor, she leaves her to act for herself, 
govern herself ; but she watches her. She per- 
mits her to walk without support, but she fore- 
sees constantly, she is present at the least false 
step. 

' k Xevertheless, the confidence of the mother 



232 SEXUAL LIFE. 

calls for confidence from the daughter. If the 
mother relaxes her rights, the daughter ought 
in return not to have any reserve, any after- 
thought : she should open herself to the mater- 
nal tenderness, let herself be seen entirely." 

The influence which a mother may exert in 
keeping her sons from a course of dissipation 
and immorality is well presented in the follow- 
ing lines : — 

"See to it, then, that their homes compete 
with public places in attractiveness. Open your 
blinds by day, and light bright fires at night. 
Illuminate your rooms. Hang pictures upon 
the walls. Put books and newspapers upon 
your tables. Have music and entertaining 
games. Banish the demons of dullness and 
apathy that have so long ruled in your house- 
hold, and bring in mirth and good cheer. In- 
vent occupations for your sons. Stimulate their 
ambitions in worthy directions. While you 
make home their delight, fill them with higher 
purposes than mere pleasure. Whether they 
shall pass happy boyhoods, and enter upon man- 
hood with refined tastes and noble ambitions, de- 
pends upon you. Do not blame miserable bar- 
keepers if your sons miscarry. Believe it possi- 
ble that with exertion and right means a mother 
may have more control over the destiny of her 
boys than any other influence whatsoever." * 



*Appleton's Journal, 



Solitary Vice, 



If illicit commerce of the sexes is a heinous sin, 
self -pollution, or masturbation, is a crime doubly 
abominable. As a sin against nature, it has no 
parallel except in sodomy (see Gen. 19:5, Judges 
19 : 22). It is the most dangerous of all sexual 
abuses because the most extensively practiced. 
The vice consists in any excitement of the geni- 
tal organs produced otherwise than in the nat- 
ural way. It is known by the terms, self -pollu- 
tion, self -abuse, masturbation, onanism, manustu- 
pration, voluntary pollution, solitary or secret 
vice, and other names sufficiently explanatory. 
The vice is the more extensive because there are 
no bounds to its indulgence. Its frequent repeti- 
tion fastens it upon the victim with a fascina- 
tion almost irresistible. It may be begun in 
earliest infancy and may continue through life. 

Even though no warning may have been giv- 
en, the child seems to know, instinctively, that 
he is committing a heinous wrong, for he care- 
fully hides his practice from observation. In 
solitude he pollutes himself, and with his own 
hand blights all his prospects for both this world 
and the next. Even after being solemnly warned 
he will often continue this worse than beastly 

233 



234 SEXUAL LIFE. 



practice, deliberately forfeiting his right to health 
and happiness for a moment's mad sensuality. 
An excellent writer offers the following on this 
subject :— 

" This is resorted to from various motives. 
With many there is no opportunity for the nat- 
ural gratification of their appetites ; some are de- 
terred from such gratification by the fear of dis- 
covery, regard for character, or a dread of dis- 
ease ; others there are whose consciences revolt 
at the idea of licentious intercourse, who yet ad- 
dict themselves to this practice with the idea 
that there is in it less of criminality. It is to 
be apprehended, however, that its commence- 
ment can usually be traced to a period of life 
when no such causes can have been in operation. 
It is begun from imitation, and taught by ex- 
ample, long before the thoughts are likely to 
have been exercised with regard either to its 
dangers or its criminality. The prevalence of 
this vice among boys seems to be connected with 
the great amount of illicit indulgence which ex- 
ists among young men. It prepares the way, it 
excites the appetite, it debauches the imagina- 
tion. There is little doubt that it is often, if not 
commonly, begun at a period of life when the 
natural appetite does not, and should not, exist. 
It is solicited — prematurely developed ; it is al- 
most created. On every account, then, this prac- 
tice in the young demands especial notice. It is 



SOLITARY VICE. 235 

the great corrupter of the morals of our youth, 
as well as a frequent destroyer of their health 
and constitution. Could it be arrested, the task 
of preventing the more open form of licentious- 
ness would be comparatively easy ; for it creates 
and establishes, at a very early age, a strong 
physical tendency, an animal want of the most 
imperious nature, which, like the longing of the 
intemperate man, it is almost beyond human pow- 
er to overcome. The brute impulse becomes a 
habit of nearly irresistible force before the reason 
is instructed as to its injurious influence on the 
health, or the conscience awakened as to its true 
character as a sin."* 

Alarming Prevalence of the Tice. — The hab- 
it is by no means confined to boys ; girls also in- 
dulge in it, though, it is to be hoped, to a less 
fearful extent than boys, at least in this country. 
A Russian physician, quoted by an eminent med- 
ical professor in New York, states that the 
habit is universal among girls in Russia. It 
seems impossible that such a statement should 
be credible ; and yet we have not seen it contra- 
dicted. It is more than probable that the prac- 
tice is far more nearly universal everywhere 
than even medical men are willing to admit. 
Many young men who have been addicted to 
the vice, have, in their confessions, declared that 

* Ware. 



236 SEXUAL LIFE. 

they found it universal in the schools in which 
they learned the practice. 

Dr. Gardner speaks of it as " the secret cause 
of much that is perverting the energies and de- 
moralizing the minds of many of our fairest and 
best." He further says : — 

" Much of the worthlessness, lassitude, and 
physical and mental feebleness attributable to 
the modern woman are to be ascribed to these 
habits as their initial cause." " Foreigners are 
especially struck with this fact as the cause of 
much of the physical disease of our young wom- 
en. They recognize it in the physique, in the 
sodden, colorless countenance, the lack-luster eye, 
in the dreamy indolence, the general carriage, 
the constant demeanor indicative of distrust, 
mingled boldness and timidity, and a series of 
anomalous combinations which mark this genus 
of physical and moral decay." 

The extent to which the vice is practiced by 
an individual is in some cases appalling. Three 
or four repetitions of the act daily are not un- 
common ; and the following from Dr. Copland is 
evidence of much deeper depravity : — 

" There can be no doubt that the individual 
who has once devoted himself to this moloch of 
the species becomes but too frequently its slave 
to an almost incredible degree. A patient who 
was sent to London for my advice confessed that 
he had practiced this vice seven or eight times 



SOLITARY VICE. 237 

daily from the age of thirteen until twenty-four ; 
and he was then reduced to the lowest state of 
mental weakness, associated with various bodily 
infirmities ; indeed, both mental power and 
physical existence were nearly extinguished." 

Says a medical writer, " In my opinion, neither 
the plague, nor war, nor small-pox, nor similar 
diseases, have produced results so disastrous to 
humanity as the pernicious habit of onanism ; it 
is the destroying element of civilized societies 
which is constantly in action, and gradually un- 
dermines the health of a nation.'' 

" The sin of self-pollution, which is generally 
considered to be that of Onan, is one of the most 
destructive evils ever practiced by fallen man. 
In many respects it is several degrees worse than 
common whoredom, and has in its train more 
awful consequences, though practiced by num- 
bers who would shudder at the thought of crim- 
inal connection with a prostitute." * 

" However revolting to the feelings it may be 
to enter upon such a subject, it cannot be passed 
over in silence without a great violation of duty. 
Unhappily, it has not been hitherto exhibited in 
the awful light in which it deserves to be shown. 
The vjorst of it is that it is seldom suspected. 
There are many pale faces and languid and 
nervous feelings attributed to other causes, when 
all the mischief lies here." ~f" 

* Dr. Adam Clarke. f Sir W. C. Ellis. 



238 SEXUAL LUFF. 

We scarcely need add further evidence of the 
fearful extent of this evil, and will conclude with 
the following : — 

" The pernicious and debasing practice of mas- 
turbation is a more common and extensive evil 
with youth of both sexes than is usually sup- 
posed." "A great number of the evils which 
come upon the youth at and after the age of pu- 
berty, arise from masturbation, persisted in, so as 
to waste the vital energies and enervate the 
physical and mental powers of man." " Many of 
the weaknesses commonly attributed to growth 
and the changes in the habit by the important 
transformation from adolescence to manhood, are 
justly referable to this practice." * 

That this vice is not entirely a modern one is 
proved by the fact that in many ancient writ- 
ings directions are given for treating its effects. 
Even Moses seems to have recognized disorders 
of this class. Hippocrates and others devoted 
considerable attention to them. 
1 The ages at which the habit may be practiced 
include almost the whole extent of human life. 
We have seen it in infants of only three or four 
years, and in old men scarcely less than sixty, in 
both extremes marked by the most unmistakable 
and lamentable consequences. Cases have been 
noted in which the practice was begun as early 
as two years of age. It is common among Afri- 

* Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. 



SOLITARY VICE. 239 



can boys at nine and ten years of age, according 
to Dr. Copland. 

Parents who have no suspicion of the evil, 
who think their children the embodiment of 
purity, will find by careful observation and in- 
quiry — though personal testimony cannot be re- 
lied upon — that in numerous instances their 
supposed virtuous children are rotten with cor- 
ruption. Such a revelation has brought dismay 
into many a family, only too late in some cases. 

Causes of the Habit. — It is needless to reca- 
pitulate all the causes of unchastity which have 
previously been quite fully dwelt upon, and which 
are nearly all the predisposing or exciting causes 
of solitary as well as of social vice. Sexual pre- 
cocity, idleness, pernicious literature, abnormal 
sexual passions, exciting and irritating food, glut- 
tony, sedentary employment, libidinous pictures, 
and many abnormal conditions of life, are potent 
causes in exciting the vile practice ; but by far 
the most frequent causes are evil associations, 
wicked or ignorant nurses, and local disease, or 
abnormality. These latter we will consider more 
particularly as they have not been so fully dwelt 
Upon elsewhere. 

Evil Associations. — A child may have been 
raised with the greatest care. From infancy he 
may have been carefully shielded from all poi- 
sonous influences, so that at the age of ten or 
twelve, when he is for the first time sent away 



240 SEXUAL LIFE. 

to school, he may be free from vice ; but when he 
associates with his fellow-students, he soon finds 
them practicing a habit new to him, and being 
unwarned, he speedily follows their filthy exam- 
ple and quickly becomes fascinated with the 
vice. Thousands have taken their first lessons 
in this debasing habit at school. Teachers and 
scholars testify that it is often practiced even in 
school hours, almost under the teacher's eyes ; 
but where the infection most quickly spreads is 
in the sleeping apartments, where more than one 
occupy the same bed, or where several sleep in 
the same room. Nothing is more indispensable 
to purity of body and of morals than a private 
sleeping room and single bed for each student. 
Such an arrangement would serve to protect 
him from the reception of much evil, and would 
allow him an opportunity for privacy which 
every young man or youth needs for his spirit- 
ual as well as physical benefit. Not the least 
benefit of the latter class is the opportunity for 
a thorough cleansing of the whole body every 
morning, which is almost indispensable to purity 
of morals. The same suggestion is fully as ap- 
plicable to the sleeping arrangements of girls. 
The exceptional cases in which this plan would 
not be best are very few indeed. 

Says Dr. Acton, " I cannot venture to print 
the accounts patients have given me of what 
they have seen or even been drawn into at 



SOLITARY VICE. 241 

schools. I would fain hope that such abomi- 
nations are things of the past." The entrance of 
a single corrupt boy into a school which may 
have been previously pure — though such schools 
must be extremely rare — will speedily corrupt 
almost the entire membership. The evil infec- 
tion spreads more rapidly than the contagium of 
small-pox or yellow fever, and it is scarcely less 
fatal. 

This danger exists not in public or city schools 
alone, but in the most select and private schools. 
A father who had kept his two sons under the 
care of a private governess for several years, and 
then placed them in a small school taught by a 
lady, and composed of a few small children from 
the most select families, was greatly astonished 
Avhen informed by a physician that his sons 
showed symptoms of the effects of self-abuse. 
He was totally incredulous ; but an investiga- 
tion showed that they had already practiced the 
vile habit for several years, having learned it of 
an infantile school-mate. 

Wicked Nurses. — In those cases in which the 
habit is acquired at a very early age, the work 
of evil is usually wrought by the nurse, perhaps 
through ignorance of the effects of the habit. 
Incredible as it seems, it is proved by numerous 
instances that it is not an uncommon habit for 
nurses to quiet small children by handling or tit- 
illating their genital organs. They find this a 

Sex. Life. XO 



242 SEXUAL LIFE. 



speedy means of quieting them, and resort to it 
regardless or ignorant of the consequences. 

Prof. Lusk, of New York, related to his med- 
ical class a case which came under his observa- 
tion in which all of the children in a large fam- 
ily had been taught the habit by a wicked nurse 
for the purpose of keeping them quiet after they 
were put to bed. The vileness that would lead 
a person to thus rob childhood of its innocence, 
and blast its future prospects for life, is base 
enough for the commission of almost any crime. 
Indeed, the crime could hardly have been a 
worse one had the nurse referred to in the above 
case in cold blood cut the throats of those inno- 
cent children ; perhaps it might have been bet- 
ter for the children. A gentleman once declared 
that if he should detect a person teaching this 
crime to his child he would shoot him on the 
spot; and if homicide is allowable under any 
circumstances, it seems to us it would certainly 
be extenuated by such an aggravation. If bad 
associations will work an immense damage to 
the youthful character, what terrible injury may 
be wrought by an agent of sin, an instructor in 
vice, who is within the household, who presides 
in the nursery, and exerts a constant influence ! 
No one can estimate it. 

Acton remarks on this point, " I need hardly 
point out how very dangerous this is. There 
seems hardly any limit to the age at which a young 
child can be initiated into these abominations, or 
to the depth of degradation to which it may fall 



SOLITARY VICE. 243 



under such hideous teaching. Books treating of 
this subject are unfortunately too full of ac- 
counts of the habits of such children." 

In not a few instances the " hired man " has 
been the means of communicating to innocent 
little boys the infamous knowledge which, fortu- 
nately, they had not acquired in babyhood. 
With no knowledge of the evil they are commit- 
ting, they begin the work of physical damnation 
which makes a hell of life and leads to endless 
perdition hereafter. 

Are these lines perused by any one who has 
ever taught another this vice so vile, and so cer- 
tainly followed by penalties so terrible — penal- 
ties not upon the instigator but upon the hapless 
victim — let such a person clothe himself in sack- 
cloth and ashes and do penance for the remain- 
der of his life. The only way in which he can 
hope to atone even in some small degree for such 
a heinous crime is by doing all in his power to 
warn those in danger against this sin. When all 
men receive their just deserts, what will be the 
punishment of such a one who has not by thor- 
ough repentance and a life spent in trying to 
undo the work of ruin so foully wrought, in 
some measure disburdened himself of the conse- 
quences of his act ! 

Sending children very early to bed before they 
are weary, " to get them out of the way," or for 
punishment, is a grave error, as~ this may give 
rise to the vice. Confining children alone in a 
room by themselves is an equally reprehensible 



244 SEXUAL LIFE. 



practice, as it favors the commission of the act, 
at least, and may afford a favorable opportunity 
for its discovery. Allowing children to form a 
habit of seeking solitude is an evil of the same 
nature. 

Local Disease, — In the male, a tight or long 
foreskin is a frequent cause of the habit. The 
constant contact of the prepuce with the most 
sensitive part of the organ increases its sensibil- 
ity. The secretion is retained and accumulates, 
often becoming hardened. In this manner, irri- 
tation is set up, which occasions uncomfortable 
feelings and attracts the hands to the part. Ow- 
ing to the great degree of excitement due to irri- 
tation, but a slight provocation is necessary to 
arouse voluptuous sensations, and then the terri- 
ble secret is revealed. The child readily discov- 
ers how to reproduce the same, and is not slow 
to commit a frequent repetition of the act ; and 
thus the habit is formed. 

A case in which the vice originated in this 
manner was recently under our observation. 
The patient was a man of considerable intellect- 
ual power and some culture, but showed unmis- 
takable signs of his early indiscretion. He stat- 
ed that although he mingled quite freely with 
other boys of his age, he obtained no knowledge 
of the habit from others. He often heard allu- 
sions which he did not understand, and of which 
he did not, fortunately, discover the meaning. 
But he was afflicted with congenital phimosis, 
the prepuce being so tight that retraction was 



SOLITARY VICE. 245 

impossible. This, together with urinal irritation 
— which occasioned nocturnal incontinence of 
urine — constipation, and highly seasoned food, 
produced so much local irritation as to occasion 
frequent erections, and an increased secretion. 
He soon noticed that there was an accumulation 
of hardened matter beneath the foreskin, and in 
attempting to remove this, he accidentally pro- 
voked voluptuous sensations. He speedily aban- 
doned himself to the habit, often repeating it 
several times in a day. Beginning at the age of 
twelve years, he continued it for three or four 
years. Soon after acquiring the habit, he be- 
came aware of its tendencies, through reading 
books upon the subject, but he found himself so 
completely enslaved that abstinence seemed im- 
possible. One resolution to reform after another 
was formed, only to be speedily broken. His 
unwholesome diet, habitual constipation, and es- 
pecially the unfortunate organic difficulty in his 
genital organs, produced an almost constant 
priapism, which was only relieved, and then 
but temporarily, by the act of pollution. His 
sedentary habits increased the difficulty to an 
extreme degree. 

In the meantime, his constitution, naturally 
weak, was being gradually undermined. He 
suffered from constant headache, heart-burn, 
pains in the back and limbs, weakness, and las- 
situde. Yet he attributed none of these ailments 
to the true cause. After the lapse of three or 
four years thus spent, and after repeated inef- 



246 SEXUAL LIFE. 



fectual attempts, by a powerful effort of the will, 
by the aid of prayer, and by adopting a more 
Avholesome diet, he succeeded in getting the mas- 
tery of his vice. But the local difficulties still 
continued in a great degree, and under particular- 
ly aggravating circumstances- occasioned a relapse 
at long intervals. After a time, the local difficul- 
ties grew less and less and enabled him to gain 
a complete victory over the habit, though the 
results of previous sin still remained, for which 
he desired treatment. 

This case will serve as a fair illustration of 
many of similar character, in which the child ac- 
cidentally makes the discovery which leads him 
to work his own ruin. 

Constipation, piles, irritable bladder, fissure of 
the anus, local uncleanliness, and pruri^ or ecze- 
ma, of the genital organs, will produce the habit 
in both males and females in the manner de- 
scribed. Sleeping on feather beds increases the 
local congestion, and thus favors the exciting in- 
fluences of any of the above-named causes. It 
may, perhaps, itself be the exciting cause. We 
once treated a patient who was affected with 
stone in the bladder and who asserted that the 
constant irritation which he suffered in the end 
of the penis was only relieved by friction. 
This might readily be the cause of masturbation, 
though in this case the vice had been acquired 
many years before, and was still continued in 
spite of all efforts to reform. 

Lying upon the back or upon the abdomen 



SOLITARY VICE. 247 

frequently leads to self -abuse by provoking sex- 
ual excitement. Certain kinds of exercises, as 
climbing, in particular, have been attended by 
the same results. It is said that children some- 
times experience genital excitement amounting 
to pleasure as the result of whipping. 

The use of stimulants of any kind is a fruit- 
ful cause of the vice. Tea and coffee have led 
thousands to perdition in this way. The influ- 
ence of tobacco is so strongly shown in this di- 
rection that it is doubtful if there can be found 
a boy who has attained the age of puberty and 
has acquired the habit of using tobacco, who is 
not also addicted to this vile practice. Candies, 
spices, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint, and all 
strong essences, powerfully excite the genital or- 
gans and lead to the same result. 

It should be further added that there is evi- 
dence that a powerful predisposition to this vice 
is transmitted to the children of those who have 
themselves been guilty of it. 

Signs of Self- Abuse.— The net which this 
vice weaves around its victims is so strong, and 
its meshes are so elaborately interwoven with 
all his thoughts, his habits, and his very being 
when it has been long indulged, that it is im- 
portant to be able to detect it when first ac- 
quired, as it may then be much more easily 
overcome than at any subsequent period. It is 
often no easy matter to do this, as the victim 
will resort to all manner of cunning devices to 
hide his vice, and will not scruple to falsify con- 



2A8 SEXUAL LIFE. 

cerning it, when questioned. To be able to ac- 
complish this successfully, requires a careful 
study, first, of the signs by which those who in- 
dulge in the practice may be known, and, sec- 
ondly, of the habits of the individuals. 

In considering the subject it will be found 
that there are two classes of signs: 1. Those 
which may arouse suspicion, but any one of 
which, taken singly, would not be an evidence 
of the practice ; 2. Those which may be regarded 
as positive. Several suspicious signs together 
may constitute a positive sign. Under these 
two heads, we will consider the signs of this vile 
habit. 

It is well to bear in mind the fact that one 
or two suspicious signs are not evidence of the 
disease. It is likewise well to remember that 
the habit may be found where least looked for, 
and where one would have a right to expect 
perfect purity. Prejudice must be allowed no 
voice upon either side. A writer has said that 
every young person under puberty ought to be 
suspected of the disease. We can hardly in- 
dorse this remark, in full, but it would be at 
least wise for every guardian of children to crit- 
icize most carefully their habits and to quickly 
detect the first indications of sinful practices. 
Parents must not think that their children, at 
least, are too good to engage in such sinful 
abuses. It is most probable that their children 
are very like those of their neighbors; and 
any amount of natural goodness is not a protec- 



SOLITARY VICE. 249 

tion against this insidious vice when it presents 
itself as a harmless amusement to the unwarned 
and ignorant child. 

Suspicions Signs. — The following symptoms, 
occurring in the mental and physical character 
and habits of a child or young person, may well 
give rise to grave suspicions of evil, and should 
cause parents or guardians to be on the alert to 
root it out if possible : — 

1. General debility, coming upon a previously 
healthy child, marked by emaciation, weakness, an 
unnatural paleness, colorless lips and gums, and 
the general symptoms of exhaustion, when it 
cannot be traced to any other legitimate cause, 
as internal disease, worms, grief, overwork, poor 
air, or poor food, and when it is not speedily re- 
moved by change of air or appropriate remedial 
measures, may safely be attributed to solitary 
vice, no matter how far above natural suspicion 
the individual may be. Mistakes will be rare 
indeed when such a judgment is pronounced un- 
der the circumstances named. 

2. Early symptowis of consumption — or what 
are supposed to be such — as cough, and decrease 
in flesh, with short breathing and soreness of 
the lungs — or muscles of the chest — are, not 
infrequently, solely the result of this vice. That 
such is the case may be considered pretty surely 
determined if physical examination of the lungs 
reveals no organic disease of those organs. But 
it should be remembered that solitary vice is one 
of the most frequent causes of early consump- 



250 SEXUAL LIFE. 

tion. Several cases which strikingly prove this 
have fallen under our own observation. 

3. Premature and defective development is a 
symptom closely allied to the two preceding. 
When it cannot be traced to such natural causes 
as overstudy, overwork, lack of exercise, and oth- 
er influences of a similar nature, it should be 
charged to self-abuse. The early exercise of the 
genital organs hastens the attainment of pu- 
berty, in many cases, especially when the habit is 
acquired early, but at the same time saps the vi- 
tal energies so that the system is unable to man- 
ifest that increased energy in growth and devel- 
opment which usually occurs at this period. In 
consequence, the body remains small, or does not 
attain that development which it otherwise 
would. The mind is dwarfed as well as the 
body. Sometimes the mind suffers more than 
the body in lack of development, and sometimes 
the reverse is true. This defective development 
is shown, in the physical organization of males, 
in the failure of the voice to increase in volume 
and depth of tone as it should ; in deficient 
growth of the beard ; in failure of the chest to 
become full and the shoulders broad. The mind 
and character show the dwarfing influence by 
failure to develop those qualities which espe- 
cially distinguish a noble manhood. In the fe- 
male, defective development is shown by men- 
strual derangements, by defective growth either 
in stature, or as shown in unnatural slimnesSj 
and in a failure to develop the graces and pleas- 



SOLITARY VICE. 251 

ing character which should distinguish early 
womanhood. Such signs deserve careful inves- 
tigation, for they can only result from some pow- 
erfully blighting influence. 

4. Sudden change in disposition is a sign 
which may well arouse suspicion. If a boy who 
has previously been cheerful, pleasant, dutiful, 
and gentle, suddenly becomes morose, cross, pee- 
vish, irritable, and disobedient, be sure that some 
foul influence is at work with him. When a 
girl naturally joyous, happy, confiding, and ami- 
able, becomes unaccountably gloomy, sad, fretful, 
dissatisfied, and unconfiding, be certain that a 
blight of no insignificant character is resting 
upon her. Make a careful study of the habits 
of such children ; and if there is no sudden ill- 
ness to account for the change in their character, 
it need not require long deliberation to arrive at 
the true cause, for it will rarely be found to be 
anything else than solitary indulgence. 

5. Lassitude is as unnatural for a child as for 
a young kitten. A healthy child will be active, 
playful, full of life and animal spirits. If a 
young child manifests indisposition to activity, a 
dislike for play, lifelessness and languor, suspect 
his habits if there is no other reasonable cause to 
which to attribute his unnatural want of child- 
ish sprightliness. 

6. In connection with the preceding symp- 
tom will generally be found, instead of that 
natural brilliance of expression in the eyes and 
countenance, an unnatural dullness and vacant- 



252 SEXUAL LIFE. 



ness altogether foreign to childhood. This is a 
just ground for suspicion. 

7. Sleeplessness is another symptom of some 
value. Sound sleep is natural for childhood; 
and if sleeplessness be not occasioned by dietetic 
errors, as eating indigestible food, eating be- 
tween meals, or eating late suppers, it may 
justly be a cause for suspicion of evil habits. 

8. Failure of mental capacity without appar- 
ent cause should occasion suspicion of evil prac- 
tices. When a child who has previously learned 
readily, mastered his lessons easily, and possessed 
a retentive memory, shows a manifest decline in 
these directions, fails to get his lessons, becomes 
stupid, forgetful, and inattentive, he has proba- 
bly become the victim of a terrible vice, and is 
on the road to speedy mental as well as physical 
ruin. Watch him. 

9. Fickleness is another evidence of the work- 
ing of some deteriorating influence, for only a 
weak mind is fickle. 

10. Untrustworthiness appearing in a child 
should attract attention to his habits. If he has 
suddenly become heedless, listless, and forgetful, 
so that he cannot be depended upon, though pre- 
viously not so, lay the blame upon solitary in- 
dulgence. This vice has a wonderful influence 
in developing untruthfulness. A child previ- 
ously honest, under its baneful influence will 
soon become an inveterate liar. 

11. Love of solitude is a very suspicious sign. 
Children are naturally sociable, almost without 



SOLITARY VICE. 253 

exception. They have a natural dread of being- 
alone. When a child habitually seeks seclusion 
without a sufficient cause, there are good grounds 
for suspecting him of sinful habits. The barn, 
the garret, the water-closet, and sometimes se- 
cluded places in the woods, are the favorite re- 
sorts of masturbators. They should be carefully 
followed and watched, unobserved. 

12. Bashfulness is not infrequently depend- 
ent upon this cause. It would be far from right 
to say that every person who is excessively 
modest or timid is a masturbator ; but there is a 
certain timorousness which seems to arise from 
a sense of shame or fear of discovery that many 
victims of this vice exhibit, and which may be 
distinguished from natural modesty by a little 
experience. One very common mode of mani- 
festation of this timidity is the inability to look 
a superior, or any person who is esteemed pure, 
in the eye. If spoken to, instead of looking di- 
rectly at the person to whom he addresses an 
answer, the masturbator looks to one side, or lets 
his eyes fall upon the ground, seemingly conscious 
tha/t the eye is a wonderful tell-tale of the se- 
crets of the mind. 

13. Unnatural boldness, in marked contrast 
with the preceding sign, is manifested by a cer- 
tain class of victims. It can be as easily distin- 
guished, however, as unnatural timidity. The 
individual seems to have not the slightest appre- 
ciation of propriety. He commits openly the 
most uncouth acts, if he does not manifest the 



254 SEXUAL LIFE. 



most indecent unchastity of manner. When 
spoken to, he stares rudely at the person ad- 
dressing him, often with a very unpleasant leer 
upon his countenance. In some few cases there 
seems to be a curious combination of conditions. 
While mentally fearful, timid, and hesitating, 
the individual finds himself, upon addressing a 
person, staring at him in the most ungainly 
manner. He is conscious of his ill-manners, but 
is powerless to control himself. This sign is one 
which could hardly be of use to any except a 
very close observer, however, as few can read 
upon the countenance the operations of the 
mind. 

14. Mock piety — or perhaps we should more 
properly designate it as mistaken piety — is an- 
other peculiar manifestation of the effects of this 
vicious practice. The victim is observed to be- 
come transformed, by degrees, from a romping, 
laughing child, full of hilarity and frolic, to a so- 
ber and very sedate little — Christian — the friends 
think — and they are highly gratified with the pi- 
ety of the child. Little do they suspect the real 
cause of the solemn face ; not the slightest sus- 
picion have they of the foul orgies practiced by 
the little sinner. By the aid of friends he may 
soon add hypocrisy to his other crimes, and find 
in assumed devotion a ready pretense for seek- 
ing solitude. Parents will do well to investigate 
the origin of this kind of religion in their chil- 
dren. 

15. Easily frightened children are abundant 



SOLITARY VICE. 255 

among young masturbators, though all easily 
frightened persons are not vicious. It is certain, 
however, that the vice greatly exaggerates natural 
fear, and creates an unnatural apprehensiveness. 
The victim's mind is constantly filled with vague 
forebodings of evil. He often looks behind him, 
looks into all the closets, peeps under the bed, 
and is constantly expressing fears of impending 
evil. Such movements are the result of diseased 
imagination, and they may justly give rise to 
suspicion. 

16. Confusion of ideas is another characteris- 
tic of the devotee of this awful vice. If he at- 
tempts to argue, his points are not clearly made. 
He may be superficially quick and cute, but is 
incapable of deep thought, or abstruse reason- 
ing ; is often very dull of apprehension. Ideas 
are not presented in logical order, but seem to 
fall out promiscuously, and fairly represent the 
condition of a disordered brain. Attempts at 
joking are generally failures, as the jest is sure 
to be inappropriate or vulgar, and no one but 
himself sees any occasion for laughter except at 
his stupidity. Such individuals are not scarce. 

17. Boys in whom the habit has become well 
developed sometimes manifest a decided aversion 
to the society of girls ; but this is not nearly so 
often the case as some authors seem to indicate. 
It would rather appear that the opposite is more 
often true. Girls usually show an increasing 
fondness for the society of boys, and are very 



256 SEXUAL LIFE. 

prone to exhibit marked evidences of real wan- 
tonness. 

18. Round shoulders and a stooping posture 
in sitting are characteristics of young masturba- 
tors of both sexes. Whenever the child seats 
himself, the head and shoulders droop forward, 
giving to the spine a curved appearance. 

19. Weak backs and pains in the limbs and 
stiffness of the joints in children are familiar 
signs of the habit. To the first of these condi- 
tions is due the habitual stooping posture as- 
sumed by these children. The habit referred to 
is not the only cause of these conditions, but its 
causative occurrence is sufficiently frequent to 
give it no small importance as a suspicious indi- 
cation. 

20. Paralysis of the lower extremities, coming 
on without apparent cause, is not infrequently 
the result of solitary indulgence, even in very 
small children. We have seen several cases in 
which this condition was traced to the habit of 
masturbation, in children under six years of 
age. 

21. The gait of a person addicted to this vice 
will usually betray him to one who has learned 
to distinguish the peculiarities which almost al- 
ways mark the walk of such persons. In a child 
a dragging, shuffling walk is to be suspected. 
Boys, in walking rapidly, show none of that 
elasticity which characterizes a natural gait, but 
walk as if they had been stiffened in the hips, 
and as though their legs were pegs attached to 



SOLITARY VICE. 257 

the body by hinges. The girl wriggles along 
in a style quite as characteristic, though more 
difficult to detect with certainty as females are 
often so " affected " in their walk. Unsteadiness 
of gait is an evidence seen in both sexes, espe- 
cially in advanced cases. 

22. Bad positions in bed are evidences which 
should be noticed. If a child lies constantly up- 
on its abdomen, or is often found with its hands 
about the genitals, it may be at least considered 
in a fair way to acquire the habit if it has not 
already done so. 

23. Lack of development of the breasts in fe- 
males, after puberty, is a common result of self- 
pollution. Still it would be entirely unsafe to 
say that every female with small mammary 
glands had been addicted to this vice, especially 
at the present time when a fair natural develop- 
ment is often destroyed by the constant pressure 
and heat of " pads." But this sign may well be 
given a due bearing. 

24. Capricious appetite particularly character- 
izes children addicted to secret vice. At the 
commencement of the practice, they almost in- 
variably manifest great voracity for food, gorg- 
ing themselves in the most <duttonous manner. 
As the habit becomes fixed, digestion becomes 
impaired, and the appetite is sometimes almost 
wanting, and at other times almost unappeasa- 
ble. 

25. One very constant peculiarity of such 

Sex. Life. IT 



258 SEXUAL LIFE. 



children is their extreme fondness for unnatural, 
hurtful, and irritating articles. Nearly all are 
greatly attached to salt, pepper, spices, cinna- 
mon, cloves, vinegar, mustard, horse-radish, and 
similar articles, and use them in most inordinate 
quantities. A boy or girl who is constantly eat- 
ing cloves or cinnamon,, or who will eat salt in 
quantities without other food, gives good occa- 
sion for suspicion. 

26. Eating clay, slate pencils, plaster, chalk, 
and other indigestible articles is a practice to 
which girls who abuse themselves are especially 
addicted. The habit sometimes becomes devel- 
oped to such a wonderful extent that the victims 
almost rival the clay-eaters of the Amazon in 
gratifying their propensity. 

27. Disgust for simple food is one of the traits 
which a victim of this vice is sure to possess. 
He seems to loathe any food which is not ren- 
dered hot and stimulating with spices and other 
condiments, and cannot be induced to eat it. 

28. The use of tobacco is good presumptive 
evidence that a boy is also addicted to a practice 
still more filthy. Exceptions to this rule are 
very rare indeed, if they exist, which we some- 
what doubt. The same influences which would 
lead a boy to the use of tobacco would also lead 
him to solitary vice, and each sin would serve to 
exaggerate the other. 

29. Unnatural paleness and colorless lips, un- 
less they can be otherwise accounted for, may be 
attributed to secret sin. The face is a great tell- 



SOLITARY VICE. 259 

tale against this class of sinners. Justice de- 
mands, however, that an individual should be 
given the benefit of a doubt so long as there is 
a chance for the production of these symptoms 
by any other known cause, as overwork, mental 
anxiety, or dyspepsia, 

30. Acne, or pimples, on the face are also 
among the suspicious signs, especially when they 
appear upon the forehead as well as upon other 
portions of the face. Occasional pimples upon 
the chin are very common in both sexes at pu- 
berty and for a few years afterward, but are 
without significance, except that the blood may 
be somewhat gross from unwholesome diet or 
lack of exercise. 

31. Biting the finger nails is a practice very 
common in girls addicted to this vice. In such 
persons there will also be found, not infrequent- 
ly, slight soreness or ulceration at the roots of 
the nails, and warts, one or more, upon one or 
both the first two fingers of the hand— usually 
the right. 

32. The eyes often betray much. If, in addi- 
tion to want of luster and natural brilliancy, they 
are sunken, present red edges, are somewhat sore, 
perhaps, and are surrounded by a dark ring, the 
patient, especially if a child, should be suspected 
and carefully watched. It should be observed, 
however, that dyspepsia, debility from any cause, 
and, especially, loss of sleep, will produce some or 
all of these signs, and no one should be accused 
of the vice upon the evidence of these indications 



260 SEXUAL LIFE. 

alone, neither could he be justly suspected so long 
as his symptoms could be accounted for by legiti- 
mate causes. 

33. An habitually moist, cold hand is a suspi- 
cious circumstance in a young person who is not 
known to be suffering from some constitutional 
disease. 

34. Palpitation of the heart, frequently occur- 
ring, denotes a condition of nervous disturbance 
which has some powerful cause, and which may 
often be found to be the vice in question. 

35. Hysteria in females may be regarded as a 
suspicious circumstance when frequently occur- 
ring on very slight occasions, and especially if 
there is no hereditary tendency to the disease. 

36. Chlorosis, or green sickness, is very often 
caused by the unholy practice under considera- 
tion. It is very commonly attributed, when oc- 
curring in young women, to menstrual derange- 
ments ; but it is only necessary to remember that 
these menstrual irregularities are in many cases 
the result of the same habit, as has been already 
pointed out. 

37. Epileptic fits in children are not infre-* 
quently the result of vicious habits. 

38. Wetting the bed is an evidence of irrita- 
tion which may be connected with the practice ; 
it should be looked after. 

39. Unch((stity of speech and fondness for ob- 
scene stories betray a condition of mind which 
does not exist in youth who are not addicted to 
this vice. 



SOLITARY VICE. 261 

As previously remarked, no single one of the 
above signs should be considered as conclusive 
evidence of the habit in any individual ; but any 
one of them may/ and should, arouse suspi- 
cion and watchfulness. If the habit really ex- 
ists, but a short time will elapse before others 
will be discovered, and when several point in the 
same direction, the evidence may be considered 
nearly, if not quite, conclusive. But persistent 
watching will enable the positive signs to be de- 
tected sooner or later, and then there can no long- 
er be doubt. It is of course necessary to give the 
individual no suspicion that he is being watched, 
as that would put him so effectually on his 
guard as, possibly, to enable him to defy detec- 
tion. 

Positive Signs. — The absolutely positive signs 
of solitary vice are very few. Of course the 
most certainly positive of all is detection in the 
act. Sometimes this is difficult, with such con- 
summate cunning do the devotees of this Moloch 
pursue their debasing practice. If a child is no- 
ticed to seek a certain secluded spot with consid- 
erable regularity, he should be carefully followed 
and secretly watched, for several days in succes- 
sion if need be. Many children pursue the prac- 
tice at night after retiring. If the suspected 
one is observed to become very quickly quiet aft- 
er retiring, and when looked at appears to be 
asleep, the bedclothes should be quickly thrown 
off under some pretense. If, in the case of a 
boy, the penis is found in a state of erection, 



262 SEXUAL LIFE. 

with the hands near the genitals, he may he cer- 
tainly treated as a masturbator without any er- 
ror. If he is found in a state of excitement, in 
connection with the other evidences, with a 
quickened circulation as indicated by the pulse, 
or in a state of perspiration, his guilt is certain, 
even though he may pretend to be asleep. No 
doubt he has been addicted to the vice for a con- 
siderable time to have acquired so much cunning. 
If the same course is pursued with girls under 
the same circumstances, the clitoris will be found 
congested, with the other genital organs, which 
will also be moist from increased secretion. 
Other conditions will be as nearly as possible 
the same as those in the boy. 

Stains upon the night shirt or sheets, occurring 
before puberty, are certain evidences of the vice 
in boys, as they are subject, before that time, to 
no discharge which will leave a stain resembling 
that from the seminal fluid, except the rare one 
from piles. In the very young, these stains do 
not occur ; but when the habit is acquired be- 
fore puberty, a discharge resembling semen takes 
place before the ordinary period. Of course, the 
stains from urine will be easily distinguished 
from others. The frequent occurrence of such 
stains after puberty is a suspicious circumstance. 
A discharge similar in some respects may occur 
in girls. 

Before puberty, the effect of the vice upon 
the genital organs is to cause an unnatural de- 
velopment, in both sexes, of the sensitive por- 



SOLITARY VICE. 263 

tions. When this is marked, it is pretty conclu- 
sive evidence of the vice. In girls, the vagina 
often becomes unnaturally enlarged, and leucor- 
rlioea is often present. After puberty, the organs 
diminish in size and become unnaturally lax and 
shrunken. 

All of these signs should be thoroughly mas- 
tered by those who have children under their 
care, and if not continually watching for them, 
which would be an unpleasant task, such should 
be on the alert to detect the signs at once when 
they appear, and then carefully seek for others 
until there is no longer any doubt about the case. 

For convenience of reference we have tabu- 
lated the signs enumerated, as follows : — 

SUSPICIOUS SIGNS. 

1. General emaciation, weakness, paleness, 
without apparent cause. 

2. Early symptoms of consumption, with 
cough, but sound lungs. 

3. Premature and defective development. 

4. Sudden and marked change in disposition, 
of an unpleasant character. 

5. Lassitude, languor, inactivity, distaste for 
play, in small children — laziness in older ones. 

6. Dullness and stupidity of expression in 
eyes and countenance. 

7. Unaccountable sleeplessness and nervous- 
ness. 

8. Failure of mental capacity, loss of memory 
and of aptitude for learning, not due to illness. 



264 SEXUAL LIFE. 

9. Fickleness and instability. 

10. Un trustworthiness arising from heedless- 
ness, inattention, forgetfulness, and untruthful- 
ness. 

11. Disposition to seek solitude. 

12. Timidity ; inability to look a person stead- 
ily in the eye. 

13. Unnatural boldness. 

14. Mock piety, or a soberness often mistaken 
for piety. 

15. Apprehension of impending evil, coward- 
ice ; being easily frightened. 

16. Confusion of ideas; inappropriate joking ; 
dullness of perception ; inability to take a hint ; 
easily frustrated, and inapt at repartee. 

17. Special fondness for, or aversion to, the 
opposite sex. 

18. Round shoulders and stooping posture in 
sitting, in children. 

19. Weak back ; pain and stiffness in limbs 
and joints. 

20. Partial or complete paralysis of the lower 
limbs. 

21. Peculiar gait, as stiffness in rapid walk- 
ing, a shuffling, unsteady walk, or wriggling — in 
girls. 

22. Suspicious positions in bed. 

23. Deficient development of the mammse in 
girls at puberty and after. 

24. Capricious appetite ; voracious at first, aft- 
erward variable. 

25. Fondness for spices, pepper, cinnamon, 



SOLITARY VICE. 265 

cloves, salt, mustard, and other irritating and 
heating articles. 

26. Practice of eating clay, chalk, slate pen- 
cils, plaster, and similar substances ; most com- 
mon in corrupt girls. 

27. Disrelish for simple food without high 
seasoning. 

28. Use of tobacco. 

29. Unnatural paleness, and colorless lips. 

30. Acne, or pimples, especially on the fore- 
head. 

31. Biting the finger nails, soreness at roots of 
nails ; warts on index and middle fingers ; espe- 
cially in girls. 

32. Lusterless eyes, red lids, dark line beneath 
the lower lid or covering both lids. 

33. Habitually cold, moist hands, when not 
caused by dyspepsia or other disease. 

34. Palpitation of heart occurring frequently 
and on slight exertion. 

35. Hysteria frequently recurring — when not 
evidently hereditary — and easily excited. 

36. Chlorosis, or green sickness. 

37. Epileptic fits in young children. 

38. Wetting the bed. 

39. Fondness for vulgar and obscene conver- 
sation. 

POSITIVE SIGXS. 

1. Detection in the act. 

2. Discovery of conditions which imply the 
act. 



266 SEXUAL LIIE, 

3. Stains upon the night linen. 

4. Unnatural enlargement of the organs be- 
fore puberty, with local disease in girls ; dimi- 
nution in size after puberty. 

Results of Secret Vice. 

The physician rarely meets more forlorn ob- 
jects than the victims of prolonged self-abuse. 
These unfortunate beings he meets every day of 
his life, and listens so often to the same story of 
shameful abuse and retributive suffering that he 
dreads to hear it repeated. In these cases there 
is usually a horrid sameness — the same cause, the 
same inevitable results. In most cases, the patient 
need not utter a word, for the physician can read 
in his countenance his whole history, as can most 
other people at all conversant with the subject. 

In order to secure the greatest completeness 
consistent with necessary brevity, we will describe 
the effects observed in males and those in females 
under separate heads, noticing the symptoms of 
each morbid condition in connection with its de- 
scription. 

EFFECTS IN .MALES. 

We shall describe first the local effects, then 
the general effects, physical and mental. 

Local Effects. — Excitement of the genital or- 
gans produces the most intense congestion. No 
other organs in the body are capable of such 



SOLITARY VICE. 267 

rapid and enormous engorgement. When the 
act is frequently repeated, this condition be- 
comes permanent in some of the tissues, particu- 
larly in the mucous membrane lining the ure- 
thra. This same membrane continues into and 
lines throughout the bladder, kidneys, and all 
the urinary organs, together with the vesicuLe 
seminales, the ejaculatory ducts, the vasa defer- 
entia, and the testes. In consequence of this 
continuity of tissue, any irritation affecting one 
part, is liable to extend to another, or to all the 
rest. We mention this anatomical fact here as 
a help to the understanding of the different mor- 
bid conditions which will be noticed. 

Urethral Irritation. — The chronic congestion 
of the urethra after a time becomes chronic irri- 
tability. The tissue is unusually sensitive, this 
condition being often indicated by a slight 
smarting in urination. It often extends through- 
out the whole length of the urethra, and becomes 
so intense that the passage of a sound, which 
would occasion little if any sensation in a 
healthy organ, produces the most acute pain, as 
we have observed in numerous instances, even 
when the greatest care was used in the introduc- 
tion of the instrument. 

Shooting pains are often felt in the organ, due 
to this irritation. Pain is in some cases most 
felt at the root, in others, at the head. It often 
darts from one point to another. Just before 
and just after urination the pain is most severe. 

St r icture. — Long-continued irritation of the 



268 SEXUAL LIFE. 

mucous membrane of the urethra produces, ulti- 
mately, inflammation and swelling of the same 
in some portion of its extent. This condition 
may become permanent, and then constitutes 
real stricture, a most serious disease. More 
often the swelling is but transient, being due to 
some unusual excess, and will subside. Some- 
times, also, a temporary stricture is produced by 
spasmodic contraction of the muscular fibers sur- 
rounding the urethra, which is excited by the 
local irritation. This kind of stricture is often 
met in the treatment of spermatorrhoea. 

Enlarged Prostate. — This painful affection is 
a frequent result of the chronic irritation in the 
urethra, which the gland surrounds, the morbid 
action being communicated to it by its proxim- 
ity. A diseased action is set up which results in 
enlargement and hardening. It is felt as a hard 
body just anterior to the anus, and becomes by 
pressure the source of much additional mischief. 
Sometimes the disease progresses to dangerous 
ulceration. It is attended by heat, pressure, and 
pain between the anus and the root of the penis. 

Urinary Diseases. — The same congestion and 
irritability extend to the bladder and thence to 
the kidneys, producing irritation and inflamma- 
tion of those organs. Mucus is often formed in 
large quantities ; sometimes much is retained in 
the bladder. Earthy matter is deposited, which 
becomes entangled in the mucus, and thus a con- 
cretion or stone is produced, occasioning much 
suffering, and perhaps death. 



SOLITARY VICE. 269 

We saw, not long since, a case of this kind. 
The patient was nearly sixty years of age, and 
had practiced masturbation from childhood. In 
consequence of his vice, a chronic irritation of 
the urethra had been produced, which was fol- 
lowed by enlargement of the prostate, then by 
chronic irritation of the bladder and the forma- 
tion of stone. His sufferings were most excru- 
ciating whenever he attempted to urinate, which 
was only accomplished with the greatest diffi- 
culty and suffering. 

One of the unpleasant results of irritation of 
the lining membrane of the bladder is inability 
to retain the urine long, which requires frequent 
urination and often causes incontinence of urine. 

Priap ism. — This same morbid sensitiveness 
may produce priapism, or continuous and pain- 
ful erection, one of the most " terrible and hu- 
miliating conditions," as Dr. Acton says, to which 
the human body is subject. The horrid desper- 
ation of patients suffering under this condition 
is almost inconceivable. It is, fortunately, rare 
in its most severe forms ; but hundreds suffer 
from it to a most painful degree as one of the 
punishments of transgression of nature's laws ; 
and a most terrible punishment it is. 

Pile*, Prolapsus of Rectum, etc. — As the re- 
sult of the straining caused by stricture, piles, 
prolapsus of the rectum, and fissure of the anus 
are not infrequently induced, as the following 
case observed at Charity Hospital, New York, 
illustrates : — 



270 SEXUAL LIFE. 

The patient had a peculiar deformity of the 
genital organs, hypospadias, which prevented 
sexual intercourse, in consequence of which he 
gave himself up to the practice of self-abuse. 
He had become reduced to the most deplorable 
condition of both mind and body, and presented 
a most woe -begone countenance. In addition to 
his general ailments, he suffered from extreme 
prolapsus of the rectum and a most painful anal 
fissure. His condition was somewhat bettered 
by skillful surgical treatment. 

Extension of Irritation. — Serious and pain- 
ful as are the affections already noticed, those 
which arise from the extension of the congestion 
and irritation of the urethra to those other or- 
gans most intimately connected with the func- 
tion of generation are still more dreadful in 
themselves, and far more serious in their conse- 
quences. The irritation extends into the ejacu- 
latory ducts, thence, backward, into the seminal 
vesicles and downward through the vasa defer- 
entia to the testes. These organs become un- 
naturally excited, and their activity is increased. 
The testicles form an abnormal amount of sper- 
matozoa ; the seminal vesicles secrete their pecul- 
iar fluid too freely. From these tAvo sources 
combined, the vesicles become loaded with semi- 
nal fluid, and this condition gives rise to a great 
increase of sexual excitement 

In cases of long standing, the irritation of the 
urethra at the openings of the ejaculatory ducts, 
a point just in front of the bladder, advances to 



SOLITARY VICE, 271 



inflammation and ulceration. Here is now es- 
tablished a permanent source of irritation, by 
which the morbid activity of the testes and 
seminal vesicles is kept up and continually in- 
creased. This condition is indicated by frequent 
twitchings of the ejaculatory and compressor 
muscles in the perineum. It is also indicated by 
a burning sensation at the root of the penis after 
urination, which, in severe cases, amounts to very 
serious pain. 

Atrophy, or Wasting of the Testes. — The first 
result of the irritation communicated to the 
testes, is, as already remarked, increased activ- 
ity ; but this is attended by swelling in some 
cases, more or less pain, tenderness, and, after a 
time, diminution in size. 

This degenerative process likewise affects the 
seminal fluid, which becomes more or less deteri- 
orated and incapable of producing healthy off- 
spring, even while it retains the power of fecun- 
dating the ovum, which it also ultimately loses 
if the disease is not checked by proper treat- 
ment, when the individual becomes hopelessly 
impotent, a happy result for the race, for it pre- 
vents the possibility of his imparting to another 
being his debilitated constitution. 

Varicocele. — This morbid condition consists 
in a varicose state of the spermatic veins. It is 
almost always found upon the left side, owing 
to an anatomical peculiarity of the spermatic 
vein of that side. It has been supposed to be a 
result of masturbation and its effects, but is cer- 



272 SEXUAL LIFE. 

tainly caused otherwise in many cases. It is 
not infrequently found in these patients ; but 
Prof. Bartholow contends that even in such cases 
we should " consider its presence, in general, as 
accidental." Atrophy of the left testicle is often 
produced by the pressure of the distended veins; 
but this does not produce impotence. It occa- 
sionally occurs simultaneously on both sides, and 
greatly aggravates the effects of self-abuse if it 
is not itself an effect of the vice. 

Nocturnal Emissions. — Seminal emissions 
during sleep, usually accompanied by erotic 
dreams, are known as nocturnal pollutions or 
emissions, and are often called spermatorrhoea, 
though there is some disagreement respecting 
the use of the latter term. Its most proper use 
is when applied to the entire group of symptoms 
which accompany involuntary seminal losses. 

The masturbator knows nothing of this dis- 
ease so long as he continues his vile practice ; 
but when he resolves to reform, and ceases to 
defile himself voluntarily, he is astonished and 
disgusted to find that the same filthy pollutions 
occur during his sleep without his voluntary 
participation. He now begins to see something 
of the ruin he has wrought. The same nightly 
loss continues, sometimes being repeated several 
times in a single night, to his infinite mortifica- 
tion and chagrin. He hopes the difficulty will 
subside of itself, but his hope is vain; unless 
properly treated, it will probably continue until 



SOLITARY VICE. 273 

the ruin which he voluntarily began is com- 
pleted. 

This disease is the result of sexual excesses of 
any kind ; it is common in married men who 
have abused the marriage relation, when they 
are forced to temporary continence from any 
cause. It also occurs in those addicted to men- 
tal unchastity, though they may be physically 
continent. It is not probable that it would ever 
occur in a person who had been strictly conti- 
nent and had not allowed his mind to dwell 
upon libidinous imaginations. 

The exciting causes which serve to perpetuate 
this difficulty are chiefly two ; viz., local irrita- 
tion, and lewd thoughts. 

The first cause is usually chiefly located in 
the urethra, and especially at the mouths of the 
ejaculatory ducts. Distention of the seminal 
vesicles with a superabundance of seminal fluid 
also acts as a source of irritation. Constipation, 
worms, and piles have an irritative influence 
which is often very seriously felt. 

Unchaste thoughts act detrimentallv in a two- 
fold way. They first stimulate the activity of 
the testes, thus increasing the overloading of the 
seminal vesicles. Lascivious thoughts during 
wakefulness are the chief cause of lascivious 
dreams. 

Emissions do not usually occur during the 
soundest sleep, but during that condition which 
may be characterized as dozing, which is most 

Sex. Life. 18 



274 SEXUAL LIFE. 

often indulged in early in the morning after the 
soundest sleep is passed. This fact has an im- 
portant bearing upon treatment, as will be seen 
hereafter. 

At first, the emissions are always accompanied 
by dreams, the patient usually awaking imme- 
diately afterward ; but after a time they take 
place without dreams and without awaking him, 
and are unaccompanied by sensation. This de- 
notes a greatly increased gravity of the com- 
plaint. 

Certain circumstances greatly increase the fre- 
quency of the emissions and thus hasten the in- 
jury which they are certain to accomplish if 
not checked ; as, neglect to relieve the bladder 
and bowels at night, late suppers, stimulating 
foods and drinks, and anything that will excite 
the genital organs. Of all causes, amorous or 
erotic thoughts are the most powerful. Tea and 
coffee, spices and other condiments, and animal 
food have a special tendency in this direction. 
Certain positions in bed also serve as exciting 
or predisposing causes ; as sleeping upon the 
back or the abdomen. Feather beds and pillows 
and too warm covering in bed are also injurious 
for the same reason. 

In frequency, emissions will vary in different 
persons from an occasional one at long and ir- 
regular intervals to two or three a week, or sev- 
eral — as many as four in one case we have met 
— in a single night. 

The immediate effect of an emission will de- 



SOLITARY VICE. 275 

pend somewhat upon the frequency of occur- 
rence and the condition of the individual. If 
very infrequent, and occurring in a comparatively 
robust person, after the seminal vesicles have be- 
come distended with seminal fluid, the immediate 
effect of an emission may be a sensation of tem- 
porary relief. This circumstance has led certain 
persons to suppose that emissions are natural 
and beneficial. This point will receive attention 
shortly. 

If the emissions are more frequent, or if they 
occur in a person of a naturally feeble constitution, 
the immediate effect is lassitude, languor, indis- 
position and often inability to perform severe 
mental or physical labor, melancholy, amounting 
often to despair and even leading to suicide, and 
an exaggeration of local irritation, and of all the 
morbid conditions to be noticed under the head 
of "General Effects." Headache, indigestion, 
weakness of the back and knees, disturbed cir- 
culation, dimness of vision, and loss of appetite, 
are only a few of these. 

Are occasional emissions necessary or harm- 
less ? That an individual may suffer for years 
an involuntary seminal loss as frequently as once 
a month without apparently suffering very great 
injury, seems to be a settled fact among the most 
eminent practitioners, and is well confirmed by 
observation. Yet there are those who suffer se- 
verely from losses no more frequent than this. 
But when seminal losses occur more frequently 
than once a month, they will certainly ultimate 



27G SEXUAL LIFE. 

in great injury, even though immediate ill 
effects are not noticed, as in exceptional cases 
they may not be. If argument is necessary 
to sustain this position, as it hardly seems to be, 
we would refer to the fact that seminal losses do 
not occur in those who are, and always have 
been, continent both mentally and physically, 
when such rare individuals can be found. They 
occur the most rarely in those who the most 
nearly approach the standard of perfect chasti- 
ty ; so that whenever they occur, they may be 
taken as evidence of some form of sexual excess. 
This fact clearly shows that losses of this kind 
are not natural. 

If it be argued that an occasional emission is 
necessary to relieve the overloaded seminal ves- 
icles, we reply, The same argument has been used 
as an apology for unchastity ; but it is equally 
worthless in both instances. It might be as well 
argued that vomiting is a necessary physiolog- 
ical and healthful act, and should occur with 
regularity, because a person may so overload his 
stomach as to make the act necessary as a re- 
medial measure. Vomiting is a diseased action, 
a pathological process, and is occasioned by the 
voluntary transgression of the individual. Hence, 
it is as unnecessary as gluttony, and must be 
wasteful of vitality even though rendered neces- 
sary under some circumstances. So with emis- 
sions. If a person allows his mind to dwell up- 
on unchaste subjects, indulges in erotic dreams 
and riots in mental lasciviousness, he may render 



SOLITARY VICE. 277 

an emission almost necessary as a remedial effort. 
Nevertheless, he will suffer from the loss of the 
vital fluid just the same as though he had not, 
by his own concupiscence, rendered it in some de- 
gree necessary. And as it would have been in- 
finitely better for him to have retained and di- 
gested food in his stomach instead of ejecting it 
— provided it were wholesome food — so it would 
have been better for him to have retained in his 
system the seminal fluid, which would have been 
disposed of by the system and probably utilized 
to very great advantage in the repair of certain 
of the tissues. 

An eminent English physician, Dr. Milton, 
who has treated many thousands of cases of this 
disease, remarks in a work upon the subject, as 
follows : — 

" Anything beyond one emission a month re- 
quires attention. I know this statement has 
been impugned, but I am quite prepared to abide 
by it. I did not put it forward till I considered 
I had quite sufficient evidence in my hands to 
justify me in doing so." 

" An opinion prevails, as most of my readers 
are aware, among medical men, that a few emis- 
sions in youth do good instead of harm. It is 
difficult to understand how an unnatural evacua- 
tion can do good, except in the case of unnatural 
congestion. I have, however, convinced myself 
that the principle is wrong. Lads never really 
feel better for emissions ; they very often feel 
decidedly worse. Occasionally they may fancy 



278 SEXUAL LIFE. 

there is a sense of relief, but it is very much the 
same sort of relief that a drunkard feels from a 
dram. In early life the stomach may be repeat- 
edly overloaded with impunity, but I suppose 
few would contend that overloading was there- 
fore good. The fact is that emissions are in- 
variably more or less injurious ; not always visi- 
bly so in youth, nor susceptible of being assessed 
as to the damage inflicted by any given number 
of them, but still contributing, each in its turn, 
a mite toward the exhaustion and debility 
which the patient will one day complain of." 

Diurnal Emissions. — As the disease progress- 
es, the irritation and weakness of the organs be- 
come so great that an erection and emission oc- 
cur upon the slightest sexual excitement. Mere 
proximity to a female, or the thought of one, 
will be sufficient to produce a pollution, attended 
by voluptuous sensations. But after a time the 
organs become so diseased and irritable that the 
slightest mechanical irritation, as friction of the 
clothing, the sitting posture, or riding horseback, 
will produce a discharge which may or may not 
be attended by sensation of any kind ; frequent- 
ly a burning or more or less painful sensation oc- 
curs ; erection does not take place. Even strain- 
ing at stool will produce the discharge, or violent 
efforts to retain the feces when there is a tend- 
ency to diarrhea. 

The amount of the discharge may vary from 
a few drops to one or two drams, or even more. 
The character of the discharge is of considerable 



SOLITARY VICE. 279 

importance. When it occurs under the circum- 
stances last described, viz., without erection or 
voluptuous sensations, it may be of a true sem- 
inal character, or it may contain no spermatozoa. 
This point can be determined by the microscope 
alone. The discharge is the result of sexual ex- 
citement or irritation, nevertheless, and indicates 
a most deplorable condition of the genital organs. 
The patient is sometimes unnecessarily fright- 
ened by it, and often exaggerates the amount of 
the losses, and the symptoms arising from them. 
However, when a single nocturnal emission oc- 
casions such detrimental results, what must be 
the effect of repeated discharges occurring several 
times a day, or every time an individual relieves 
his bowels, urinates, or entertains an unvirtuous 
thought ! If the losses were always seminal, the 
work of ruin would soon be complete ; fortu- 
nately, those discharges which are the most fre- 
quent are only occasionally of a true seminal 
character. It is not true, however, as has been 
claimed by some writers, one at least, that they 
are never seminal, as we have proved by micro- 
scopic examination. 

The causes of these discharges are spasmodic 
action of the muscles involved in ejaculation, 
which is occasioned by local irritation, and pres- 
sure upon the seminal vesicles by the distended 
rectum or bladder. They denote a condition of 
relaxation and irritation which may well occa- 
sion grave alarm. 

In occasional instances the internal irritation 



280 SEXUAL LIFE. 

reaches such a height that blood is discharged 
with the seminal fluid. 

Internal Emissions. — As the disease progress- 
es, external discharges finally cease, in some 
cases, or pai'tially so, and the individual is en- 
couraged by that circumstance to think that he 
is recovering. He soon discovers his error, how- 
ever, for he continues to droop even though the 
discharges apparently cease altogether. This 
seems a mystery until some medical friend or 
a medical work calls his attention to the fact that 
the discharges now occur internally instead of 
externally, the seminal fluid passing back into 
the bladder and being voided with the urine. 
An examination of the urine reveals the presence 
of cloudy matter appearing much like mucus, or 
a whitish sediment. A microscopic examination 
shows this matter to be composed largely of zoo- 
sperms, which decides its origin. 

It is necessary, however, to caution the reader 
not to pronounce every whitish sediment or floc- 
culent matter found in the urine to be a seminal 
discharge, for the great majority are of a differ- 
ent character. They are, most frequently, simply 
mucus or phosphates from the bladder. Seminal 
fluid cannot be distinguished from mucus by any 
other than a careful microscopic examination. 
A microscope of good quality, and capable of 
magnifying at least one hundred and fifty diam- 
eters, is required, together with considerable 
skill in the operator. Quacks have done an im- 
mense amount of harm by frightening patients 



SOLITARY VICE. 281 

into the belief that they were suffering from dis- 
charges of this kind when there was, in fact, noth- 
ing more than a copious . deposit of phosphates, 
which is not at all infrequent in nervous people, 
especially after eating. 

When the condition described does really ex- 
ist, however, the patient cannot make too much 
haste to put himself under the care of a compe- 
tent physician for treatment. If there is even a 
reasonable suspicion that it may exist, he should 
have his urine carefully examined by one compe- 
tent to criticize it intelligently. 

By many authors, the term spermatorrhoea is 
confined entirely to this stage of the disease. 

It is said that the forcible interruption of 
ejaculation has been the cause of this unfortu- 
nate condition in many cases. Such a proceed- 
ing is certainly very hazardous. 

One more caution should be offered ; viz., that 
the occasional presence of spermatozoa in the 
urine is not a proof of the existence of internal 
emissions, as a few zoosperms may be left in the 
urethra after a voluntary or nocturnal emission, 
and thus find their way into the urine as it is 
discharged from the bladder. 

Impotence. — In the progress of the disease a 
point is finally reached when the victim not only 
loses all desire for the natural exercise of the 
sexual function, but when such an act be- 
comes impossible. This condition may have been 
reached even before all of the preceding symp- 
toms have been developed. Ultimately it be- 



282 SEXUAL LIFE. 

comes impossible to longer practice the abomina- 
ble vice itself, on account of the great degeneration 
and relaxation of the organs. The approach of 
this condition is indicated by increasing loss of 
erectile power, which is at first only temporary, 
but afterward becomes permanent. Still the in- 
voluntary discharges continue, and the victim 
sees himself gradually sinking lower and lower 
into the pit which his own hands have dug. 
The misery of his condition is unimaginable ; 
manhood lost, body a wreck, and death staring 
him in the face. 

This is a brief sketch of the local effects of the 
horrid vice of self-abuse. The description has 
not been at all overdrawn. We have yet to con- 
sider the general effects, some of which have al- 
ready been incidentally touched upon in describ- 
ing nocturnal emissions, with their immediate 
results. 

General Effects. — The many serious effects 
which follow the habit of self-abuse in addition 
to those terrible local maladies already described, 
are the direct results of two causes in the male ; 
viz., 

1. Nervous exhaustion ; 

2. Loss of the seminal fluid. 

There has been much discussion as to which 
one of these was the cause of the effects ob- 
served in these cases. Some have attributed all 
the evil to one cause, and some to the other. 
That the loss of semen is not the only cause, nor, 
perhaps, the chief source of injury, is proved by 



SOLITARY VICE. 283 

the fact that most deplorable effects of the vice 
are seen in children before puberty, and also in 
females, in whom no seminal discharge nor any- 
thing analogous to it occurs. In these cases, it 
is the nervous shock alone which works the evil. 
Again, that the seminal fluid is the most high- 
ly vitalized of all the fluids of the body, and 
that its rapid production is at the expense of a 
most exhaustive effort on the part of the vital 
forces, is well attested by all physiologists. It is 
further believed by many eminent physicians 
that the seminal fluid is of great use in the body 
for building up and replenishing certain tissues, 
especially those of the nerves and brain, being- 
absorbed after secretion. Though this view is 
not coincided in by all physiologists, it seems to 
be well supported by the following facts : — 

1. The composition of the nerves and that of 
spermatozoa is probably nearly identical.* 

2. Men from whom the testes have been re- 
moved before puberty, as in case of eunuchs, are 
never fully developed as they would otherwise 
have been. 

The nervous shock accompanying the exercise 
of the sexual organs — either natural or unnatu- 
ral — is the most profound to which the system is 
subject. The whole nervous system is called in- 
to activity ; and the effects are occasionally so 
strongly felt upon a weakened organism that 
death results in the very act. The subsequent 

* Spencer. 



284 SEXUAL LIFE. 



exhaustion is necessarily proportionate to the 
excitement. 

It need not be surprising, then, that the ef- 
fects of the frequent operation of two such pow- 
erful influences combined, should be so terri- 
ble as they are found to be. 

General Debility. — Nervous exhaustion and 
the loss of the vivifying influence of the seminal 
fluid produce extreme mental and physical debil- 
ity, which continues and increases as the habit 
continues, and is continued by involuntary emis- 
sions after the habit ceases. If the patient's 
habits are sedentary, and if he had a delicate 
constitution at the start, his progress toward the 
grave will be fearfully rapid, especially if the 
habit were acquired young, as it most frequently 
is by such boys, they being generally precocious. 
Extreme emaciation, sallow or blotched skin, 
sunken eyes, surrounded by a dark or blue color, 
general weakness, dullness, weak back, stupidity, 
laziness, or indisposition to activity of any kind, 
wandering and illy defined pains, obscure and 
often terrible sensations, pain in back and limbs, 
sleeplessness, and a train of morbid symptoms 
too long to mention in detail, attend these suf- 
ferers. . 

Consumption. — It has been recently recog- 
nized by the profession that this vice is one of 
the, most frequent causes of consumption. At 
least such would seem to be the declaration of 
experience, and the following statistical fact 
adds weight to the conclusion : — 



SOLITARY VICE. 285 

" Dr. Smith read a paper before a learned med- 
ical association a few years since in which he 
pointed out the startling fact that in one thou- 
sand cases of consumption five hundred and 
eighteen had suffered from some form of sexual 
abuse, and more than four hundred had been ad- 
dicted to masturbation or suffered from noctur- 
nal emissions/'* 

" Most of those who early become addicted to 
self -pollution are soon afterward the subjects 
not merely of one or more of the ailments al- 
ready noticed, but also of enlargements of the lym- 
phatic and other glands, ultimately of tubercu- 
lar deposits in the lungs and other viscera, or of 
scrofulous disease of the vertebrae or bones, or of 
other structures, more especially of the joints." *f* 

Many young men waste away and die of 
symptoms resembling consumption which are 
solely the result of the loathsome practice of 
self-abuse. The real number of consumptives 
whose disease originates in this manner can nev- 
er be known. 

Dyspepsia. — Indigestion is frequently one of 
the first results. Nervous exhaustion is always 
felt by the stomach very promptly. When dys- 
pepsia is once really established, it reacts upon 
the genital organs, increasing their irritability as 
well as that of all the rest of the nervous sys- 
tem. Now there is no end to the ills which may 
be suffered ; for an impaired digestion lays the 

* Acton. f Copland. 



28G SEXUAL LIFE. 

system open to the inroads of almost any and 
every malady. 

Heart Disease. — Functional disease of the 
heart, indicated by excessive palpitation on the 
slightest exertion, is a very frequent symptom. 
Though it unfits the individual for labor, and 
causes him much suffering, he would be fortu- 
nate if he escaped with no disease of a more 
dangerous character. 

Throat Affections. — There is now no doubt 
that many of the affections of the throat in 
young men and older ones which pass under the 
name of " clergyman's sore throat " are the di- 
rect results of masturbation and emissions. 

Dr. Acton cites several cases in proof of this, 
and quotes the following letter from a young 
clergyman : — 

" When I began the practice of masturbation, 
at the a^e of sixteen, I was in the habit of exer- 
rising my voice regularly. The first part in 
which I felt the bad effects of that habit was in 
the organs of articulation. After the act, the 
voice wanted tone, and there was a disagreeable 
feeling about the throat which made speaking a 
source of no pleasure to me as it had been. By- 
and-by, it became painful to speak after the act. 
This arose from a feeling as if a morbid matter 
was being secreted in the throat, so acrid that it 
sent tears to the eyes when speaking, and would 
have taken away the breath if not swallowed. 
This, however, passed away in a day or two aft- 
er the act. In the course of years, when invol- 



SOLITARY VICE. 287 

untary emissions began to impair the constitu- 
tion, this condition became permanent. The 
throat always feels very delicate, and there is 
often such irritability in it, along with this feel- 
ing of the secretion of morbid matter, as to 
make it impossible to speak without swallowing 
at every second or third word. This is felt even 
in conversation, and there is a great disinclina- 
tion to attempt to speak at all. In many instances, 
in which the throat has been supposed to give 
way from other causes, I have known this to be 
the real one. May it not be that the general ir- 
ritation always produced by the habit referred 
to, shows itself also in this organ, and more fully 
in those who are required habitually to exercise 
it?" 

Nervous Diseases. — There is no end to the 
nervous affections to which the sufferer from 
this vice is subject. Headaches, neuralgias, 
symptoms resembling hysteria, sudden alterna- 
tions of heat and cold, irregular flushing of the 
face, and many other affections, some of the 
more important of which we will mention in de- 
tail, are his constant companions. 

Epilepsy. — This disease has been traced to the 
vile habit under consideration in so many cases 
that it is now very certain that in many instanc- 
es this is its origin. It is of frequent occurrence 
in those who have indulged in solitary vice or 
any other form of sexual excess. We have seen 
several cases of this kind. 

Failure of Special Senses.— Dimness of vision, 



288 SEXUAL LIFE. 

amaurosis, spots before the eyes, with other 
forms of ocular weakness, are common results 
of this vice. The same degeneration and pre- 
mature failure occur in the organs of hearing. 
In fact, sensibility of all the senses becomes in 
some measure diminished in old cases. 

Spinal Irritation. — Irritation of the spinal 
cord, with its resultant evils, is one of the most 
common of the nervous affections originating in 
this cause. Tenderness of the spine, numerous 
pains in the limbs, and spasmodic twitching of 
the muscles, are some of its results. Paralysis, 
partial or complete, of the lower limbs, and even 
of the whole body, is not a rare occurrence. We 
have seen two cases in which this was well 
marked. Both patients were small boys and be- 
gan to excite the genital organs at a very early 
age. In one, the paralytic condition was com- 
plete when he was held erect. The head fell 
forward, the arms and limbs hung down helpless, 
the eyes rolled upward, and the saliva dribbled 
from his mouth. When lying flat upon his back, 
he had considerable control of his limbs. In this 
case, a condition of priapism seems to have ex- 
isted almost from birth, owing to congenital 
phimosis. His condition was somewhat im- 
proved by circumcision. In the other case, in 
which phimosis also existed, there was paraly- 
sis of a few of the muscles of the leg, which pro- 
duced club-foot. Circumcision was also per- 
formed in this case and the child returned in a 
few weeks completely cured, without any other 



SOLITARY VICE. 289 



application, though it had previously been treat- 
ed in a great variety of ways without success, 
all the usual remedies for club-foot proving in- 
effectual. Both of these cases appeared in the 
clinic of Dr. Sayre at Bellvue Hospital, and were 
operated upon by him. 

More recently, we have observed two cases of 
spinal disease which could be traced to no origin 
but masturbation. Both patients were small 
boys, naturally quite intelligent. They mani- 
fested all the peculiarities of loco-motor ataxia 
in older persons, walking with the characteristic 
gait. The disease was steadily progressing in 
spite of all attempts to stay it. An older broth- 
er had died of the same malady, paralysis ex- 
tending over the whole body, and finally pre- 
venting deglutition, so that he really starved to 
death. 

Insanity. — That solitary vice is one of the 
most common causes of insanity, is a fact too 
well established to need demonstration here. 
Every lunatic asylum furnishes numerous illus- 
trations of the fact. " Authors are universally 
agreed, from Galen down to the present day, 
about the pernicious influence of this enervating 
indulgence, and its strong propensity to generate 
the very worst and most formidable kinds of in- 
sanity. It has frequently been known to occa- 
sion speedy, and even instant, insanity."* 

" Religious insanity," so-called, may justly be 

Sex. Life. 19 * Arnold. 



A 



290 SEXUAL LIFE. 

attributed to this cause in a great proportion of 
cases. The individual is conscience-smitten in 
view of his horrid sins, and a view of his terri- 
ble condition — ruined for both worlds, he fears 
— leads him to despair, and his weakened intel- 
lect fails ; reason is dethroned, and he becomes a 
hopeless lunatic. His friends, knowing nothing 
of the real cause of his mysterious confessions 
of terrible sin, think him over-conscientious, and 
lay the blame of his insanity upon religion, when 
it is solely the result of his vicious habits, of 
which they are ignorant. 

In other cases, the victim falls into a profound 
melancholy from which nothing can divert him. 
He never laughs, does not even smile. He be- 
comes more and more reserved and taciturn, 
and perhaps ends the scene by committing sui- 
cide. This crime is not at all uncommon with 
those who have gone the whole length of the 
road of .evil. They find their manhood gone, the 
vice in which they have so long delighted is 
no longer possible, and, in desperation, they put 
an end to the miserable life which nature might 
lengthen out a few months if not thus violently 
superseded. 

If the practice is continued uninterruptedly 
from boyhood to manhood, imbecility and idiocy 
are the results. Demented individuals are met 
in no small numbers inside of hospitals and asy- 
lums, and outside as well, who owe to this vice 
their awful condition. Plenty of half-witted 
men whom one meets in the e very-day walks of 



SOLITARY VICE. 291 

life have destroyed the better half of their un- 
derstanding by this wretched practice. 

The mental condition of a victim of this vice 
cannot be better described than is done in the 
following paragraphs by one himself a victim, 
though few of these unfortunate individuals 
would be able to produce so accurate and critical 
a portrait of themselves as is here drawn by M. 
Rousseau, as quoted by Mr. Acton : — 

" One might say that my heart and my mind 
do not belong to the same person. My feelings, 
quicker than lightning, fill my soul ; but instead 
of illuminating, they burn and dazzle me. I 
feel everything. I see nothing. I am excited, 
but stupid ; I cannot think except in cold blood. 
The wonderful thing is that I have sound enough 
tact, penetration, even finesse, if people will wait 
for me. I make excellent impromptus at leisure ; 
but at the moment I have nothing ready to say or 
do. I should converse brilliantly by post, as they 
say the Spaniards play at chess. When I read of a 
Duke of Savoy who turned back after starting 
on his journey to say, £ In your teeth ! you Paris 
shopkeeper !' I said, ' That is like me !' " 

" But not only is it a labor to me to express, 
but also to receive, ideas. I have studied men, 
and I think I am a tolerably good observer ; yet 
I can see nothing of what I do see. I can 
hardly say that I see anything except what I re- 
call ; I have no power of mind but in my recol- 
lection. Of all that is said, of all that is done, 
of all that passes in my presence, I feel nothing, 



292 SEXUAL LIFE. 

I appreciate nothing. The external sign is all 
that strikes me. But after a while it all comes 
back to me." 

" I find no burden more intolerable than 
the obligation to speak at once and constantly. 
I do not know if this arises from my mortal 
aversion from all subjection; but it is quite 
enough to be obliged to speak to make me infal- 
libly say something foolish. 

" What is more fatal is that, instead of know- 
ing how to hold my tongue when I have nothing 
to say, it is just then that, to pay my debt as 
quickly as possible, I have a mania for talking. 
I try in a hurry to stammer, promptly, words 
without ideas, only too happy if they mean noth- 
ing at all. In trying to conquer or hide my 
inaptitude, I seldom fail to display it. 

" I believe that this is the real explanation of 
why, though I am not a fool, I have often passed 
for one, even with persons capable of judging; 
all the more unhappy because my physiognomy 
and my eyes promise something better, and my 
failure makes my stupidity all the more shock- 
ing to others." 

EFFECTS IN FEMALES. 

Local Effects. — The local diseases produced 
by the vice in females are, of course, of a differ- 
ent nature from those seen in males, on account 
of the difference in organization. They arise, 
however, in the same way, congestions at first 



SOLITARY VICE. 293 

temporary ultimately becoming permanent and 
resulting in irritation and worse disorders. 

Leucorrhcea. — The results of congestion first 
appear in the mucous membrane lining the 
vagina, which is also injured by mechanical irri- 
tation, and consist of a catarrhal discharge which 
enervates the system. By degrees the discharge 
increases in quantity and virulence, extending 
backward until it reaches the sensitive womb. 

Contact with the acrid, irritating secretions of 
the vagina produces soreness of the fingers at 
the roots of the nails, and also frequently causes 
warts upon the fingers. Hence the value of 
these signs, as previously mentioned. 

Uterine Disease. — Congestion of the womb is 
also produced by the act of abuse ; and as the 
habit is continued, it also becomes permanent. 
This congestion, together with the contact of the 
acrid vaginal discharge, finally produces ulcera- 
tion upon the neck, together with other dis- 
eases. 

Another result of congestion is all kinds of 
menstrual derangements after puberty, the oc- 
currence of which epoch is hastened by the 
habit. Prolapsus and various displacements are 
produced in addition to menstrual irregularities. 
Cancer of the Womb. — Degeneration of this 
delicate organ also occurs as the result of the 
constant irritation and congestion, and is often 
of a malignant nature, occasioning the most pain- 
ful death. 

Sterility, dependent on a total loss of sexual 



294 SEXUAL LIFE. 

desire and inability to participate in the sexual 
act, is another condition which is declared by 
medical authors to be almost exclusively due to 
previous habits of self-abuse. In consequence 
of overexcitement, the organs become relaxed. 

Atrophy of Breasts. — Closely connected with 
other local results is the deficient development 
of the breasts when the vice is begun before or 
at puberty, and atrophy if it is begun or contin- 
ued after development has occurred. As pre- 
viously remarked, this is not the sole cause of 
small mammse, but it is one of the great causes. 

Pruritus is an affection not infrequent in these 
subjects. Continued congestion produces a ter- 
tible itching of the genitals which increases un- 
til the individual is in a state of actual frenzy, 
and the disposition to manipulate the genitals 
becomes irresistible, and is indulged even in the 
presence of friends or strangers, and though the . 
patient be at other times a young woman of un- 
exceptional modesty. In cases of this kind, 
great hypertrophy of the organ of greatest sensi- 
bility has been observed, and in some cases am- 
putation of the part has been found the only 
cure. 

General Effects. — The general effects in the 
female are much the same as those in the male. 
Although women suffer no seminal loss, they 
suffer the debilitating effects of leucorrhoea, 
which is in some degree injurious in the same 
manner as seminal losses in the male. But in 
females the greatest injury results from the 



SOLITARY VICE. 295 

nervous exhaustion which follows the unnatural 
excitement. Nervous diseases of every variety 
are developed. Emaciation and debility become 
more marked even than in the male, and the 
worst results are produced sooner, being has- 
tened by the sedentary habits of these females, 
generally. Insanity is more frequently devel- 
oped than in males. Spinal irritation is so fre- 
quent a result that a recent surgical author has 
said that " spinal irritation in girls and women 
is, in a majority of cases, due to self-abuse." * 

This, too, is one of the most frequent causes 
of hysteria, chorea, and epilepsy among young 
women, though not often recognized. 

A writer, quoted several times before in this 
work, remarks as follows : — 

" This is not a matter within the scope of gen- 
eral investigation ; truth is not to be expected 
from its hrihitues, parents are deceived respect- 
ing it, believing rather what they wish than 
what they fear. Even the physician can but 
suspect, till time develops more fully by hys- 
terias, epilepsies, spinal irritations, and a train 
of symptoms unmistakable even if the finally 
extorted confession of the poor victim did not 
render the matter clear. Marriage does, indeed, 
often arrest this final catastrophe, and thus ap- 
parently shifts the responsibility upon other 
shoulders, and to the ' injurious effects of early 
marriages,' to the c ills of maternity,' are ascribed 
the results of previous personal abuse. 

* Davis. 



296 SEXUAL LIFE, 

" For statistics and further information on this 
all-important subject, we must refer the reader 
to the opinions of physicians who have the 
charge of our retreats for the insane, lunatic 
asylums, and the like ; to the discriminating 
physicians of the families of the upper classes — , 
stimulated alike by food, drinks, scenes where 
ease is predominant, where indolence is the 
habit and novel-reading is the occupation — for 
further particulars on a subject here but barely 
alluded to." * 

EFFECTS UPON OFFSPRING. 

If sterility does not result, children are liable 
to be " delicate, puny, decrepit, or subject to va- 
rious congenital maladies, especially of the nerv- 
ous system, to idiocy from deficient development 
of the brain, to hydrocephalus, to epilepsy, con- 
vulsions, pafey. The scrofulous diathesis, tuber- 
cular and glandular maladies, diseases of the ver- 
tebra and of the joints, softening of the central 
portions of the brain, and tuberculous formations 
in the membranes, palsy and convulsions, chorea, 
inflammations of the membranes or substance 
of the brain or spinal cord, and numerous other 
affections to which infants and children are lia- 
ble, very commonly result from the practice of 
self -pollution by either of the parents previous 
to marriage. But the evil does not always stop 

* Gardner. 



SOLITARY VICE. 297 

at this epoch of existence, it often extends 
throughout the life of the offspring, or it appears 
only with puberty and mature age." 

Too frequently, the victim of self -abuse, when 
he finds himself suffering from the first results 
of his sin, neglects to adopt any measures for 
the cure of the disease. Not understanding its 
inveterate character, he labors under the delu- 
sion that it will cure itself in time. This is a 
fatal mistake. The diseased conditions induced 
by this vice never improve themselves. Their 
constant tendency is to increase in virulence and 
inveteracy. The necessity of taking prompt 
measures for relief is too apparent to need espe- 
cial emphasis. 

Treatment of Self-Abuse and 
its Effects, 

After having duly considered the causes and 
effects of this terrible evil, the question next in 
order for consideration is, How shall it be cured ? 
When a person has, through ignorance or weak- 
ness, brought upon himself the terrible effects 
described, how shall he find relief from his ills, 
if restoration is possible ? To the answer of 
these inquiries, most of the remaining pages of 
this work will be devoted. But before entering 
upon a description of methods of cure, a brief 
consideration of the subject of prevention of the 
habit will be in order. 



298 SEXUAL LIFE. 



PREVENTION OF SECRET VICE. 

For the rising generation, those yet innocent 
of the evil practices so abundant in this age of 
sensuality, how the evil habit may be prevented 
is the most important of all questions connected 
with this subject. This topic should be espe- 
cially interesting to parents, for even parents 
who are themselves sensual have seen enough of 
the evils of such a life to wish that their chil- 
dren may remain pure. There are, indeed, rare 
exceptions to this rule, for we sometimes learn 
of parents who have deliberately led their own 
children into vice, as though they desired to 
make them share their shame and damnation. 

Cultivate Chastity. — From earliest infancy 
all of those influences and agencies for the culti- 
vation of chastity should be brought into active 
exercise. These we need not repeat here, hav- 
ing previously dwelt upon them so fully. The 
reader is recommended to re-peruse the portion 
of the work devoted to this subject, in connec- 
tion with the present section. If parents have 
themselves indulged in this vice, they should 
use special care that all of the generative and 
gestative influences brought to bear upon the 
child are the purest possible, so that it may not 
inherit a predisposition to sin in this direction. 

Special care should be exercised to avoid cor- 
rupt servants and associates. Every servant not 
known to be pure should be suspected until proof 



SOLITARY VICE. 299 

of innocence has been established. They should 
be especially instructed of the evil arising from 
manipulation of the genitals even in infants, as 
they may do immense harm through simple ig- 
norance. 

Timely Warning. — But, in spite of chaste sur- 
roundings and all other favorable circumstances, 
if the child is left in ignorance of his danger, 
he may yet fall a victim to the devices of serv- 
ants or corrupt playmates, or may himself make 
a fatal discovery. Hence arises the duty of 
warning children of the evil before the habit has 
been formed. This is a duty that parents sel- 
dom perform even when they are not unaware 
of the danger. They in some way convince 
themselves that their children are pure, at least, 
even if others are corrupt. It is often the most 
difficult thing in the world for parents to com- 
prehend the fact that their children are not the 
best children in the world, perfect paragons of 
purity and innocence. There is an unaccounta- 
ble and unreasonable delicacy on the part of 
parents about speaking of sexual subjects to 
their children. In consequence, their young, in- 
quisitive minds are left wholly in ignorance un- 
less, perchance, they gain information from some 
vile source. 

Objections are raised against talking to chil- 
dren or young persons about matters in any de- 
gree pertaining to the sexual organs or func- 
tions. Some of the more important of them are 
considered in the introduction to this work. 



300 SEXUAL LIFE. 

The little one should be taught from earliest 
infancy to abstain from handling the genitals, 
being made to regard it as a very improper act. 
When the child becomes old enough to under- 
stand and reason, he may be further informed of 
the evil consequences ; then, as he becomes older, 
the functions of the organs may be explained 
with sufficient fullness to satisfy his natural 
craving for knowledge. 

If this course were pursued, how many might 
be saved from ruin ! It would, of course, be nec- 
essary that the parents should themselves be ac- 
quainted with the true functions of the organs 
before they attempt to teach any one else, espe- 
cially children. Many parents might receive 
benefit from being obliged to " study up ;" for it 
is a lamentable fact, the ill effects of which are 
every day seen, that a great many people have 
spent a very large portion of their lives without 
ever ascertaining the true function of the repro- 
ductive organs, though living in matrimony for 
many years. Some of the consequences of this 
ignorance have been portrayed in previous 
pages. 

" Oh ! why did not some kind friend tell me 
of the harm I was doing myself ?" has been the 
exclamation of many an unfortunate sufferer from 
this vice. A warning voice should be raised to 
save those who are ignorantly working their own 
destruction. Parents, teachers, ministers, all 
who have access to the youth, should sound the 
note of alarm in their ears, that if possible they 



SOLITARY VICE. 301 

may be saved from the terrible thralldom pict- 
ured by a writer in the following lines : — 

" The waters have gone over me. But out of 
the black depths, could I be heard, I would cry 
to all those who have but set a foot in the 
perilous flood. Could the youth look into my 
desolation, and be made to understand what 
a dreary thing it is when a man shall feel him- 
self going down a precipice with open eyes and 
passive will — to see his destruction and have no 
power to stop it, and yet to feel it all the way 
emanating from himself; to perceive all good- 
ness emptied out of him, and yet not be able to 
forget a time when in was otherwise ; to bear 
about with him the spectacle of his own self- 
ruin ; could he feel the body of death out of 
which I cry hourly with feebler and feebler out- 
cry to be delivered " 

CURATIVE TREATMENT OF THE EFFECTS 
OF SELF-ABUSE. 

When the habit and its effects are of very 
short duration, a cure is very readily accom- 
plished, especially in the cases of children and fe- 
males, as in them the evils begun are not contin- 
ued in the form of involuntary pollutions. In 
cases of longer standing in males, the task is more 
difficult, but still the prospect of recovery is very 
favorable, provided the cooperation of the patient 
can be secured ; without this, little can be done. 
But in these cases the patient may as well be 



302 SEXUAL LIFE. 

told at the outset that the task of undoing the 
evil work of years of sin is no easy matter. It 
can only be accomplished by determined effort, 
by steady perseverance in right doing, and in the 
application of necessary remedies. Those who 
have long practiced the vice, or long suffered 
severely from its effects, have received an injury 
which will inevitably be life-long to a greater or 
lesser extent in spite of all that can be done for 
them. Yet such need not despair, for they may 
receive inestimable benefit by the prevention of 
greater damage, which they are sure to suffer if 
the disease is allowed to go unchecked. 

Cure of the Habit. — The preliminary step in 
treatment is always to cure the vice itself if it 
still exists. The methods adopted for this pur- 
pose must differ according to the age of the in- 
dividual patient. 

In children, especially those who have re- 
cently acquired the habit, it can be broken up 
by admonishing them of its sinfulness, and por- 
traying in vivid colors its terrible results, if the 
child is old enough to comprehend such admoni- 
tions. In addition to faithful warnings, the at- 
tention of the child should be fully occupied by 
work, study, or pleasant recreation. He should 
not be left alone at any time, lest he yield to 
temptation. Work is an excellent remedy ; work 
that will really make him very tired, so that 
when he goes to bed he will have no disposition 
to defile himself. It is best to place such a child 
under the care of a faithful person of older 



SOLITARY VICE. 303 

years, whose special duty it shall be to watch 
him night and day until the habit is thoroughly 
overcome. 

In younger children, with whom moral con- 
siderations will have no particular weight, other 
devices may be used. Bandaging the parts has 
been practiced with success. Tying the hands is 
also successful in some cases ; but this will not 
always succeed, for they will often contrive to 
continue the habit in other ways, as by working 
. the limbs, or lying upon the abdomen. Cover- 
ing the organs with a cage has been practiced 
with entire success. A remedy which is almost 
always successful in small boys is circumcision, 
especially when there is any degree of phimosis. 
The operation should be performed by a surgeon 
without administering an anaesthetic, as the brief 
pain attending the operation will have a salu- 
tary effect upon the mind, especially if it be 
connected with the idea of punishment, as it 
may well be in some cases. The soreness which 
continues for several weeks interrupts the prac- 
tice, and if it had not previously become too 
firmly fixed, it may be forgotten and not re- 
sumed. If any attempt is made to watch the 
child, he should be so carefully surrounded by 
vigilance that he cannot possibly transgress with- 
out detection. If he is only partially watched, 
he soon learns to elude observation, and thus the 
effect is only to make him cunning in his vice. 

In adults, or youths, a different plan must be 
pursued. In these cases, moral considerations, 



304 SEXUAL LIFE. 

and the inevitable consequences to health of body 
and mind, are the chief influences by which a re- 
form is to be effected, if at all. These considera- 
tions may be urged with all possible eloquence 
and earnestness, but should not be exaggerated. 
The truth is terrible enough. If there are any 
special influences which may be brought to bear 
upon a particular individual — and ther£ always 
will be something of this sort owing to peculiar- 
ities of temperament or circumstances — these 
should be promptly employed and applied in 
such a manner as to secure for them their full 
bearing. 

But after all, the most must be done by the 
individual himself. All that others can do for 
him is to surround him with favoring circum- 
stances and arouse him to a proper sense of his 
real condition and danger. If this can be 
thoroughly accomplished, there is much reason 
to hope ; but if the individual has become so 
lost to all sense of purity, all aspirations toward 
good and noble objects, that he cannot be made 
to feel the need of reformation, his case is hope- 
less. 

Hovj may a person help himself? The fol- 
lowing suggestions will be found useful in fight- 
ing the battle with vice and habit : — 

1. Begin by a resolution to reform strength- 
ened by the most solemn vows. 

2. Resolve to reform now ; not to-morrow or 
jiext week, but this very minute. Thousands 



SOLITARY VICE. 305 

have sunk to perdition while resolving to in- 
dulge " only this once." 

3. Begin the work of reform by purging the 
mind. If a lewd thought enters the mind, dispel 
it at once. Cultivate a loathing for concupis- 
cence. Never harbor such ideas for an instant, 
for they will surely lead to the overt act. If, 
perchance, the physical sin should not be com- 
mitted, the thought itself is sin, and it leaves a 
physical as well as a moral scar almost as deep and 
hideous as that inflicted by the grosser crime. 

4. As a help to purity of mind, whenever im- 
pure thoughts enter, immediately direct the 
mind upon the purest object with which you are 
acquainted. Flee from the special exciting cause 
if there is one, and engage in some active labor 
or other exercise that will divert the mind into 
another channel. 

5. Avoid solitude, for then it is that tempta- 
tion comes, and you are most likely to fail. 
Avoid equally all other causes which may lead 
to the act. 

6. Strictly comply with all the rules laid down 
for the cultivation of chastity and the mainte- 
nance of continence. 

7. Above all, seek for grace and help from the 
Source of all spiritual strength in every time of 
temptation, relying upon the promise, " Seek, 
and ye shall find." 

Hopeful Courage. — An individual who will 
earnestly set himself about the work of purifying 

Sex. Life. SO 



306 SEXUAL LIFE. 



his mind and redeeming his body, if he will con- 
scientiously adopt, and perseveringly apply, the 
remedies pointed out, may be sure of success. 
There can be no possible chance for failure. 
Triumph is certain. Patience may be tried and 
faith tested, but unwavering trust in God and 
nature, and an executed determination to do all 
on his part, will bring to every such one certain 
recovery. There may be some scars left, a few 
traces of the injury wrought; but the deliver- 
ance will be none the less triumphant. Faith 
and perseverance will work wonders. 

General Regimen and Treatment. — After 
long abuse of the sexual organs, and in many 
cases after a short course of sin, the whole sys- 
tem becomes deteriorated ; digestion is impaired, 
the muscles are weakened, the circulation is un- 
balanced, the nerves are irritable, the brain — es- 
pecially the back and lower portion of it — is 
congested, the skin is torpid, the bowels are in- 
active, the general health is deranged in almost 
every particular. All of these morbid conditions 
serve to keep up the very difficulty which has 
produced and is increasing them. Any curative 
effort, to be effective, then, must be directed to 
these as well as to local conditions ; and it is 
pretty certainly established that local remedies or 
applications alone will rarely accomplish any ap- 
preciable good, at least of a permanent character. 

Many of the observations on treatment are 
equally applicable to both sexes ; but particular 



SOLITARY VICE. 307 

directions have been especially adapted to males, 
and chiefly with the cure of seminal emissions 
as the object in view. This remark will explain 
any seeming lack of completeness. 

Mental and Moral Treatment. — The greatest 
impediment to recovery is usually found in the 
mind of the patient. His hopeless despair, mel- 
ancholy, sullen apathy in many cases, want of 
energy, and fickleness of mind, thwart all at- 
tempts that are made for him. In other cases, 
the want of will-power, or neglect to exercise 
the will in controlling the thoughts, completely 
counteracts all that can be done for him. He 
must be made to understand this well, and then 
all possible means must be employed to attract 
his attention from himself, from brooding over 
his ills. Occupy him, interest him, or teach him 
to occupy and interest himself. The enthusias- 
tic study of some one of the natural sciences is 
a most excellent auxiliary in effecting this. 

The thing of first importance is that the pa- 
tient should obtain command of his thoughts ; 
by this means, he can do more for himself than 
all the doctors can do for him. " But I can- 
not control my thoughts," says the patient. As 
a young man said to me, " doctor, you do n't 
know how I feel. I despise myself ; I hate my- 
self; I often feel inclined to kill myself. My 
mind is always full of abominable images ; my 
thoughts run away with me and I cannot help 
myself." The tears ran down his face in streams 



308 SEXUAL LIFE. 

as he told, me of his slavery. He solemnly affirmed 
that he had never performed the act of self -pol- 
lution but once in his life ; and yet for years he 
had been a constant sufferer from nocturnal 
emissions until his manhood was nearly lost, evi- 
dently the result of the mental onanism which 
he had practiced without imagining the possibil- 
ity of harm. 

But it is not true that control of the thoughts 
is impossible. Thoughts are the result of the 
action of the brain ; and the action of the brain 
may be controlled as well as the movements of a 
voluntary muscle. It may be more difficult, es- 
pecially when the resolution is weakened, as it is 
by this vice ; but so long as there are left any 
remnants of will and reason, control is possible. 
To strengthen the will must be one of the ob- 
jects of mental treatment, and exercise is the 
method by which it may be accomplished. The 
thing for a sufferer to say, is not, " I can't," but, " I 
can and I will control my thoughts." Sugges- 
tions which will aid in accomplishing this have 
already been given under the heading, " Cure of 
the Habit." 

We cannot forbear to add a word further re- 
specting the worth of religion in aiding these 
sufferers. If there is any living creature who 
needs the help of true religion, of faith in God, 
in Christ, and in the efficacy of prayer, it is one 
of these. If there is any poor mortal who can- 
not afford to be deprived of the aid of a sympa- 
thizing Saviour, it is one who has enervated his 



SOLITARY VICE. 309 

will, degraded his soul, and depraved his body by 
the vile habit of self-abuse. A compassionate Re- 
deemer will succor even these defiled ones if they 
truly " hunger and thirst " after purity, and if 
they set about the work of reform themselves in 
good earnest, and with right motives. 

Exercise. — Physical exercise is a most power- 
ful aid to pure thoughts. When unchaste ideas 
intrude, engage at once in something which will 
demand energetic muscular exercise. Pursue 
the effort until fatigued, if necessary, making, 
all the while, a powerful mental effort to control 
the mind. Of course, evil thoughts will not be ex- 
pelled by thinking of them, but by displacing them 
by pure thoughts. Exercise aids this greatly. 

Exercise is also essential to balance the circu- 
lation, and thus relieve congestion of internal 
organs. Sedentary persons especially need sys- 
tematic exercise. No single form of exercise is 
so excellent as walking. Four or five miles a 
day are none too many to secure a proper amount 
of muscular exercise. Gymnastics, the " health- 
lift," " Indian clubs," " dumb-bells," rowing, and 
other forms of exercise, are all good ; but none 
of them should be carried to excess. Ball-play- 
ing is likely to be made a source of injury by 
exciting, in vigorous competition, too violent and 
spasmodic action. 

Daily exercise should be taken to the extent 
of fatigue. It is better that those who are still 
strong enough should have some regular employ- 



310 SEXUAL LIFE. 



ment which will secure exercise. Those who 
prefer may secure exercise and recreation in the 
pursuit of some study that involves necessary 
physical exertion ; as. botany, geology, or ento- 
mology. The collection of natural-history speci- 
mens is one of the most pleasant diversions, and 
may be made very useful as well. 

Pleasant companionship is essential to the best 
progress of these patients, especially in their 
walks, as much more exercise may be taken 
without an unpleasant sense of fatigue with a 
cheerful companion than when alone. Solitude 
should be avoided at all times as much as possible. 

Diet. — So much has already been said upon 
the relation of diet to chastity and its influence 
upon the sexual organs that it is unnecessary to 
add many remarks here. Nothing could be 
more untrue than the statement made by some 
authors that the nature of the diet is of no con- 
sequence. 

The science of physiology teaches that our 
very thoughts are born of what we eat. A man 
that lives on pork, fine-flour bread, rich (?) pies 
and cakes, and condiments, drinks tea and coffee, 
and uses tobacco, might as well try to fly as to 
be chaste in thought. He will accomplish won- 
ders if he remains physically chaste ; but to be 
mentally virtuous would be impossible for him 
without a miracle of grace. 

One whose thoughts have been so long trained 
in the filthy ruts of vice that they run there au- 



SOLITARY VICE. 311 

tomatically, and naturally gravitate downward 
— such a one must exercise especial care to se- 
cure the most simple, pure, and unstimulating diet. 
The following precautions are necessary to be 
observed in relation to diet : — 

1. Never overeat. If too much food is taken 
at one meal, fast the next meal to give the sys- 
tem a chance to recover itself and to serve as a 
barrier against future transgressions of the same 
kind. Gluttony is fatal to chastity ; and over- 
eating will be certain to cause emissions with 
other evils, in one whose organs are weakened 
by abuse. 

2. Eat but twice a clay, or, if supper is eaten, 
let it be very light, and of the most simple food, 
as fruit, or fruit and bread. Nothing should be 
eaten within four or five hours of bed-time, and 
it is much better to eat nothing after three 
o'clock. The ancients ate but two meals a day ; 
why should moderns eat three or four ? If the 
stomach contains undigested food, the sleep will 
be disturbed, dreams will be more abundant, and 
emissions will be frequent. A most imperative 
rule of life should be, u Never go to bed with 
a loaded stomach." The violation of this rule is 
the great cause of horrid dreams and nightmare. 

3. Discard all stimulating food, Under this 
head must be included, spices, pepper, ginger, 
mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, all condi- 
ments, salt, pickles, etc., together with animal 
food of all kinds, not excepting fish, fowl, oys- 
ters, eggs, and milk. It is hardly expected that 



312 SEXUAL LIFE. 

all who have been accustomed to use these articles 
all their lives will discard them wholly at once, 
nor, perhaps, that many will ever discard them 
entirely ; but it would be better for them to do 
so, nevertheless. The only ones .which should 
be tolerated under any circumstances should be 
lean beef or mutton, salt in very moderate 
quantities, and a moderate use of milk. Use as 
little of these as possible — the less the better. 

4. Stimulating drinks should be abstained 
from with still greater strictness. Wine, beer, 
tea, and coffee should be taken under no circum- 
stances. The influence of coffee in stimulating 
the genital organs is notorious. Chocolate should 
be discarded also. It is recommended by some 
who suppose it to be harmless, being ignorant 
of the fact that it contains a poison practically 
identical with that of tea and coffee. 

Hot drinks of all kinds should be avoided. 
Tobacco, another stimulant, though not a drink, 
should be totally abandoned at once. 

5. In place of such articles as have been con- 
demned, eat fruits, grains, and vegetables. There 
is a rich variety of these kinds of food, and they 
are wholesome and unstimulating. Graham flour, 
oatmeal, and ripe fruit are indispensables of a 
dietary for those who are suffering from sexual 
excesses. 

Further remarks upon this subject, with a few 
useful recipes for preparing healthful food, will 
be found in a section devoted to the subject of 
diet at the close of this volume. The patient 



SOLITARY VICE. 313 

must carefully comply with all the rules of a 
healthy diet if he would be sure of recovery. 

Sleeping. — It is from accidents which happen 
during sleep that the great majority of sufferers 
complain ; hence there is no little importance at- 
taching to this subject. The following suggestions 
present in a very brief manner some of the more 
practical ideas connected with this topic : — 

1. From seven to nine hours' sleep are required 
by all persons. The rule should be, Retire early 
and sleep until rested. Early rising is not bene- 
ficial unless it has been preceded by abundant 
sleep. 

2. Arise immediately upon waking in the 
morning if it is after four o'clock. A second 
nap is generally unrefreshing, and is dangerous, 
for emissions most frequently occur at this time. 

3. If insufficient sleep is taken at night, sleep 
a few minutes just before dinner. Half an 
hour's rest at this time is remarkably refreshing : 
and even fifteen minutes spent in sleep will be 
found very reviving. Do not sleep after dinner, 
as a pollution will be very likely to occur, and, 
as a rule, after-dinner naps are unrefreshing and 
productive of indigestion. 

4. Never go to bed with the bowels or bladder 
loaded. The bladder should be emptied just be- 
fore retiring. It is also a good plan to form 
the habit of rising once or twice during the 
night to urinate. 

5. The position in sleeping is of some impor- 



314 SEXUAL LIFE. 

tance. Sleeping upon the back or upon the ab- 
domen favors the occurrence of emissions ; hence, 
it is preferable to sleep on one side. If supper 
has been taken, the right side is preferable, as 
that position will favor the passage of food from 
the stomach into the intestines in undergoing di- 
gestion. 

Various devices are employed, sometimes with 
advantage, to prevent the patient from turning 
upon his back while asleep. The most simple is 
that recommended by Acton, and consists in ty- 
ing a knot in the middle of a towel and then ty- 
ing the towel around the body in such a way 
that the knot will come upon the small of the 
back. The unpleasant sensation arising from the 
pressure of the knot will often serve as a com- 
plete preventive. Others fasten a piece of wood 
upon the back for a similar purpose. Still oth- 
ers practice tying one hand to the bed-post. 
None of these remedies should be depended up- 
on, but they may be tried in connection with 
other means of treatment. 

G. Soft beds and pillows must be carefully 
avoided. Feather-beds should not be employed 
when possible to find a harder bed ; the floor, 
with a single folded blanket beneath the sleeper, 
would be preferable. Soft pillows heat the head, 
as soft beds produce heat in other parts. A hair 
mattress, or a bed of corn husks, oat straw, or 
wood shavings — covered with two or three blan- 
kets or a quilted cotton mattress— makes a very 
healthful and comfortable bed. 



SOLITARY VICE. 315 

7. Too many covers should be avoided with 
equal care. The thinnest possible covering in 
summer and the lightest consistent with comfort 
in winter should be the rule. Sleeping too 
warm is a frequent exciting cause of nocturnal 
losses. 

8. Thorough ventilation of the sleeping-room, 
both while occupied and during the day-time, 
must not be neglected. It should be located in 
a position to admit the sunshine during the 
morning hours. It is a good plan to keep in it a 
number of house plants, as they will- help to 
purify the air, besides adding to its cheerful- 
ness. 

9. If wakeful at night, instead of lying in 
bed trying to go to sleep, get up at once, open 
the bed, air the sheets, remove the night cloth- 
ing and walk about the room for a few minutes, 
rubbing the body briskly with the bare hand at 
the same time. A tepid sponge bath, followed 
by a vigorous rubbing kept up until really tired, 
will conduce to sleep in many cases. Sometimes 
a change of bed, or pulling the bed to pieces and 
arranging it again, is just the thing needed to 
bring sleep. 

10. One of the most effectual panaceas for 
certain varieties of sleeplessness is going to bed 
at peace with all the world, and with a conscience 
void of offense toward God as well as man. 

Dreams. — This is a subject of much interest 
to those suffering from nocturnal pollutions, for 



316 SEXUAL LIFE. 



these occurrences are almost always connected 
with dreams of a lascivious nature. 

In perfectly natural sleep, there are no dreams ; 
consciousness is entirely suspended. In the 
ordinary stage of dreaming, there is a peculiar 
sort of consciousness, many of the faculties of 
the mind being more or less active while the 
power of volition is wholly dormant. Carpenter 
describes another stage of consciousness between 
that of ordinary dreaming and wakefulness, a 
condition "in which the dreamer has a con- 
sciousness that he is dreaming, being aware of 
the unreliability of the images which present 
themselves before his mind. He may even make 
a voluntary and successful effort to prolong them 
if agreeable, or to dissipate them if unpleasing ; 
thus evincing a certain degree of that directing 
power, the entire want of which is characteristic 
of the true state of dreams." 

Can dreams be controlled ? Facts prove that 
they can be, and to a remarkable extent. A 
large share of emissions occur in the state de- 
scribed by Dr. Carpenter, in which a certain 
amount of control by the will is possible. This 
is the usual condition of the mind during morn- 
ing naps ; and if a person resolutely determines 
to combat unchaste thoughts, whenever they come 
to him, whether asleep or awake, he will find it 
possible to control himself not only during this 
semi-conscious state, but even during more pro- 
found sleep. 



SOLITARY VICE. 317 

The following case, related by an eminent Lon- 
don surgeon,* illustrates what may be done by 
strong resolution ; the patient was an Italian 
gentleman of very great respectability. 

" He had been inconvenienced five years be- 
fore with frequent emissions, which totally un- 
nerved him. He determined resolutely, that the 
very instant the image of a woman or any libid- 
inous idea presented itself to his imagination, 
he would wake ; and to insure his doing so, dwelt 
in his thoughts on his resolution for a long time 
before going to sleep. The remedy, applied by 
a vigorous will, had the most happy results. 
The idea, the remembrance of its being a dan- 
ger, and the determination to wake, closely unit- 
ed the evening before, were never dissociated 
even in sleep, and he awoke in time ; and this 
reiterated precaution repeated during some even- 
ings absolutely cured the complaint." 

Several other cases of .the same kind have 
been recorded. Doubtless the plan would be 
found successful in many cases when coupled 
with a proper regimen. 

A still greater control is exerted over the 
thoughts during sleep by their character during 
hours of wakefulness. By controlling the mind 
during entire consciousness, it will also be con- 
trolled during unconsciousness or semi-con- 
sciousness. 

* Acton. 



318 SEXUAL LIFE. 

Dr. Acton makes the following very appropri- 
ate remarks on this subject: — 

" Patients will tell you that they cannot con- 
trol their dreams. This is not true. Those who 
have studied the connection between thoughts 
during waking hours and dreams during sleep 
know that they are closely connected. The 
character is the same sleeping or waking. It is 
not surprising that, if a man has allowed his 
thoughts during the day to rest upon libidinous 
subjects, he should find his mind at night full of 
lascivious dreams — the one is a consequence of 
the other, and the nocturnal pollution is a natu- 
ral consequence, particularly when diurnal indul- 
gence has produced an irritability of the genera- 
tive organs. A will which in our waking hours 
Ave have not exercised in repressing sexual de- 
sires, will not, when we fall asleep, preserve us 
from carrying the sleeping echo of our waking 
thought farther than we dared to do in the day- 
time." 

Bathing, — A daily bath is indispensable to 
health under almost all circumstances; for pa-' 
tients of this class, it is especially necessary. A 
general bath should be taken every morning im- 
mediately upon rising. General cold bathing is 
not good for any person, especially in the morn- 
ing, though some may tolerate it remarkably 
well, being of exceptionally hardy constitutions ; 
but the advice to try " cold bathing " often given 
to sufferers from seminal weakness, is very perni- 



SOLITARY VICE. 319 

cious, for most of them have been reduced so 
low in vitality by their disease that they cannot 
endure such violent treatment. 

Sun baths, electric baths, spray, plunge, and 
other forms of bath, are of greatest value to 
those suffering from the effects of indiscretions. 
These are described, with additional observations 
concerning temperature of baths, etc., etc., in 
works devoted to this subject. 

Improvement of General Health. — Patients 

suffering from emissions and other forms of sem- 
inal weakness are almost always dyspeptic, and 
most of them present other constitutional affec- 
tions which require careful and thorough treat- 
ment according to the particular indications of 
the case. The wise physician will not neglect 
these if he desires to cure his patient and make 
his recovery as complete as possible. 

Prostitution as a Remedy.— Said a leading 
physician in New York to us when interrogated 
as to his special treatment of spermatorrhoea, 
" When a young man comes to me suffering 
from nocturnal emissions, I give him tonics and 
send him to a woman" That this. is not an un- 
usual method of treatment, even amono' regular 
physicians, is a fact as true as it is deplorable. 
There are hundreds of young men whose morals 
have been ruined by such advice. Having been 
educated to virtuous habits, at least so far as il- 
licit intercourse is concerned, they resist all 
temptations in this direction, even though their 



320 SEXUAL LIFE. 

inclinations are very strong ; but when advised 
by a physician to commit fornication as a re- 
medial measure, they yield their virtue, far too 
readily sometimes, and begin a life of sin from 
which they might have been prevented. There 
are good grounds for believing that many young 
men purposely seek advice from physicians 
whom they know are in the habit ot prescrib- 
ing this kind of a remedy. 

few know how commonly this course is rec- 
ommended, and not by quacks, but by members 
of the regular profession. A medical friend in- 
formed us that he knew a case in which a coun- 
try physician advised a young man of continent 
habits to go to a neighboring large city and 
spend a year or so with prostitutes, which ad- 
vice he followed. Of his subsequent history we 
know nothing; but it is most probable that, like 
most other young men who adopt this remedy, 
he soon contracted diseases which rendered his 
condition ten times worse than at first, without 
at all improving his former state. In pursuing 
this course, one form of emission is only substitut- 
ed for another, at the best ; but more than this, an 
involuntary result of disease is converted into a 
voluntary sin of the blackest character, a crime 
in which two participate, and which is not only 
an outrage upon nature, but against morality 
as well. 

A final argument against this course is that it 
is not a remedy and does not effect a cure of the 



SOLITARY VICE. 321 

evil, as will be shown by the following medical 
testimonies : — 

" The vexed question of connection is one 
which may be decided out of hand. . . . It 
has no power of curing bad spermatorrhoea ; it 
may cause a diminution in the number of emis- 
sions, but this is only a delusion ; the semen is 
still thrown off; the frame still continues to be 
exhausted ; the genital organs and nervous sys- 
tem generally are still harassed by the incessant 
tax, and the patient is all the while laying the 
foundation of impotence/' * 

"In all solemn earnestness I protest against 
such false treatment. It is better for a youth to 
live a continent life/' " There is a terrible sig- 
nificance in the wise man's words, 'None that 
go to her return again, neither take they hold of 
the paths of life.' " *f* 

This hazardous and immoral mode of treat- 
ment is the result of the common opinion that 
emissions are necessary and natural, which we 
have previously shown to be a falsity. 

Marriage. — Another class of practitioners, 
with more apparent regard for morality, recom- 
mend matrimony as the sure panacea for all the 
ills of which the sufferers from self -abuse com- 
plain, with the possible exception of actual im- 
potence. Against this course several objections 
may be urged ; we offer the following : — 

1. It is not a remedy, since, as in the case of 



Sex. Life. si * Milton. f Acton. 



X'2'2 SEXUAL LIFE. 

illicit intercourse, " legalized prostitution " is only 
a substitution of one form of emissions for an- 
other, the ill effects of which do not differ ap- 
preciably. 

2. If it were a remedy it would not be a jus- 
tifiable one, for its use would necessitate an 
abuse of the marriage relation as elsewhere 
shown. 

3. As another reason why the remedy would 
not be a proper, even if a good, one, it may well 
be asked, What right has a man to treat a wife 
as a vial of medicine ? Well does Mr. Acton in- 
quire, " What has the young girl, who is thus 
sacrificed to an egotistical calculation, done that 
she should be condemned to the existence that 
awaits her ? Who has the right to regard her 
as a therapeutic agent, and to risk thus lightly 
her future prospects, her repose, and the happi- 
ness of the remainder of her life ?" 

In cases in which seminal emissions occur fre- 
quently, the most reliable writers upon this sub- 
ject, Copland, Acton, Milton, and others, advise, 
with reference to marriage, " that the complaint 
should be removed before the married life is 
commenced." Independent of the considerations 
already presented, the individual affected in this 
manner and contemplating marriage should care- 
fully consider the possible and probable effects 
upon offspring, the legitimate result of marriage; 
these have been already described, and need not 
be recapitulated. 



SOLITARY VICE. 323 

Local Treatment. — While it is true that gen- 
eral treatment alone is occasionally successful in 
curing the diseases under consideration, and that 
local treatment alone is very rarely efficient, it 
is also true that in many cases skillful local 
treatment is required to supplement the general 
remedies employed. While there has been a 
tendency on the part of the profession generally 
to depend wholly upon general treatment, on the 
part of a less numerous body of specialists there 
has been an opposite tendency to depend wholly, 
or nearly so, upon local measures. Both ex- 
tremes are evidently wrong. 

The object of local treatment for the relief of 
emissions, especially, is to remove the local cause 
of irritation, which, as previously shown, is one 
of the most active exciting causes of seminal 
losses. To effect this, both internal and exter- 
nal applications are useful. We will now con- 
sider some of these agents. 

Cool Sitz Both. — The cool or cold sitz bath 
is one of the most efficacious of all remedies. It 
should be taken daily, and may often be re- 
peated, with benefit, several times a day. Its 
effect is to relieve the local congestion, and thus 
allay the irritability of the affected parts. When 
but one bath is taken daily, it should be just be- 
fore retiring at night. Full directions for this 
and other baths are given in the section devoted 
to bathing. 

Ascending Douche. — This is also a very use- 
ful means of allaying irritation, especially the 



324 SEXUAL LIFE. 



reflex excitability which is often present in the 
muscles in the vicinity of the perineum and 
prostate gland, and when there is pain and full- 
ness in these parts. 

Abdominal Bandage. — This may be worn 
nights to very great advantage by most patients. 
It not only allays the irritability of the nerve 
centers which are closely connected with the 
genital apparatus, but serves to keep the bowels 
in a healthy condition. It should not be applied 
so continuously as to produce a very profuse 
eruption on the skin. If such a symptom should 
appear, discontinue the bandage for a time. 
When worn during the day-time, it should be 
changed once in three or four hours. It is gen- 
erally best to wear it only nights. 

Wet Compress. — This is an application to be 
made to the lower part of the spine for the pur- 
pose of allaying the excessive heat and irritation 
which often exist there. It may also be worn 
nights, as it in some degree prevents the danger 
arising from sleeping upon the back. 

Hot and Gold Applications to the Spine. — 
These are powerful remedies under appropriate 
conditions. Hot applications relieve congestion 
of the genital organs and allay irritation. Cold 
applications are useful when a condition of de- 
bility and relaxation is present. Alternate ap- 
plications of heat and cold are very valuable 
when skillfully applied as a means of allaying 
reflex excitability and promoting healthy action. 
These applications are especially useful in cases 



SOLITARY VICE. 325 

in which there is heat and pain in the lower por- 
tion of the back. Their effects are greatly en- 
hanced by administering a foot or leg bath at 
the same time. 

Local Fomentations. — When great local irri- 
tation exists, with considerable pain and spas- 
modic muscular action, the application of hot fo- 
mentations to the perineum will be found the 
most effectual means of giving relief. The hot 
douche and hot sitz bath are useful under the 
same circumstances. 

In some cases, alternate hot and cold applica- 
tions are more effectual in allaying local irritation 
that hot fomentations alone. 

Local Cold Bathing. — The genital organs 
should be daily bathed in cold water just before 
retiring. Simply dashing water upon the parts 
for two or three minutes is insufficient ; more 
prolonged bathing is necessary. A short appli- 
cation of cold occasions a strong and sudden re- 
action which increases local congestion ; hence, 
the bath should be continued until the sedative 
effect is fully produced, which will require at 
least fifteen minutes. The water must be cold ; 
about 60° is the best temperature. Ice should be 
used to cool the water in warm weather. It 
should be applied thoroughly, being squeezed 
from a sponge upon the lower part of the abdo- 
men and allowed to run down. 

Enemata.— The use of the enema is an im- 
portant means of aiding recovery, but it has been 
much abused, and must be employed with cau- 



>2<> SEXUAL LIFE. 



tion. When the bowels are very costive, relieve 
them before retiring by a copious injection of 
tepid water. The " fountain syringe " is the best 
instrument to employ. 

Useful as is the syringe when needed, nothing 
could be much worse than becoming dependent 
upon it. The bowels must be made to act for 
themselves without such artificial assistance, by 
the use of proper food, especially graham flour 
and oatmeal, and the avoidance of hot drinks, 
milk, sugar, and other clogging and constipating 
articles ; by wearing the abdominal bandage ; 
by thorough kneading and percussion of the ab- 
domen several times daily for five minutes at a 
time ; by taking one or two glasses of cold wa- 
ter half an hour before breakfast every morning; 
and by plenty of muscular exercise daily. The 
enema should be used, occasionally, however, 
rather than allow the bowels to continue costive, 
and to avoid severe straining at stool. 

A small, cold enema taken just before retiring, 
and retained, will often do much to allay local 
irritation. 

Electricity. — Probably no single agent will ac- 
complish more than this remedy when skillfully 
applied. It needs to be carefully used, and can- 
not be trusted in the hands of those not ac- 
quainted with the physical properties of the 
remedy and scientific methods of applying it. 

Internal Applications. — Complete and rapid 
success greatly depends upon skillful internal 
treatment in a large number of cases. We are 



SOLITARY VICE. 327 

aware that there is considerable prejudice, in 
certain quarters, against internal treatment ; but 
having had the opportunity of observing the ef- 
fects of careful treatment applied in this way, 
and having put to the test of practical experi- 
ence this method, we feel justified in recommend- 
ing that which is approved on both theoretical 
and practical grounds ; for it is rational to sup- 
pose that proper treatment applied directly to 
the seat of disease must be at least equally effi- 
cacious with methods less direct. 

As heretofore explained, in the more severe 
cases the urethra is found in a very irritable 
condition. It is supersensitive, especially in that 
portion just in front of the bladder, where the 
ejaculatory ducts open into it. We have also 
seen how that this condition is one of the chief 
exciting causes of emissions. The remedies de- 
scribed for allaying this irritation are all excel- 
lent and indispensable ; but there is another 
method of great value. This consists in the 
passage of a suitable instrument, a sound or 
bougie of proper size, two or three times a week. 
By the aid of this means, the abnormal irrita- 
tion will often diminish with magical rapidity. 
The passage of the instrument of course needs 
to be done with the greatest delicacy, so as to 
avoid increasing the irritation ; hence it should 
not be attempted by a novice. Lack of skill in 
catheterism is doubtless the reason why some 
have seemed to produce injury rather than ben- 
efit by this method of treatment, they not rec- 



328 SEXUAL LIFE. 



ognizing the fact asserted by Prof. Gross in his 
treatise on surgery, that skillful catheterism is 
one of the mose delicate operations in surgery. 

The use of electricity in connection with that 
of the sound adds greatly to its utility. By 
means of the metallic instrument, also, electricity 
may be applied directly to the point of greatest 
irritation ; and its soothing effect is sometimes 
really wonderful, as the following case will 
show : — 

The patient, a man of unusual physical devel- 
opment, was suffering from nocturnal emissions 
and diminished sexual power, the result of early 
indiscretions and marital excesses. One of his 
most unpleasant symptoms was severe pain in 
the portion of the urethra near the openings of 
the ejaculatory ducts. After he had been suffer- 
ing more than usual for a few days, we applied 
the faradaic electric current in the manner indi- 
cated above, for about fifteen minutes. At the 
end of that time the pain was entirely removed, 
though considerable suffering had been caused 
by the passage of the instrument, so sensitive 
was the congested membrane. The pain did not 
return again for two or three weeks, though 
treatment was necessarily suspended on account 
of absence. 

In another case, that of a young man, a stu- 
dent, at the beginning of treatment emissions 
occurred nightly, and sometimes as many as four 
in a single night, according to his statement, 
which we had no reason to doubt. Under the 



SOLITARY VICE. 329 

influence of these local applications, combined 
with other measures of treatment and a measur- 
ably correct regimen, the number of emissions 
was in a few weeks reduced to one in two or 
three weeks. 

Numerous other cases nearly as remarkable 
might be detailed if it were necessary to do so. 
In quite a considerable number of cases in which 
we have employed this plan of treatment, the re- 
sults have been uniformly excellent. A very 
slight increase of irritation sometimes occurs at 
first, but this quickly subsides. 

The galvanic as well as the faradaic current is 
to be used under proper circumstances* The ap- 
plication of electricity to the nerve centers by 
means of central galvanization, and also general 
and local external faradization, are necessary 
methods to be employed in electrical treatment. 

Circumcision. — In cases of phimosis, in which 
irritation is produced by retained secretions, di- 
vision of the prepuce, or circumcision, is the prop- 
er remedy. These cases are not infrequent, but 
the exciting cause of much of the difficulty is 
often overlooked. The same remedy is often 
useful in cases of long prepuce. 

When the glans penis is unusually tender and 
sensitive, this condition will usually be removed 
by the daily washing with soap and water nec- 
essary for cleanliness. If this does not suffice, 
or if there are slight excoriations caused by acrid 
secretions, apply, in addition, a weak solution of 
tannin in glycerine once a day. 



330 SEXUAL LIFE. 



Impotence. — Loss of sexual power arising from 
any form of sexual excess, should be treated on the 
same general plan laid down for the treatment 
of emissions and other weaknesses. Cold to the 
spine, and short, but frequent, local cold appli- 
cations, are among the most useful remedies ; 
but,- probably, electricity, discreetly used, is by 
far the most valuable of all remedies. It should 
be applied both internally and externally. 

The use of cantharides and other aphrodisiac 
remedies to stimulate the sexual organs is a most 
pernicious practice. The inevitable result is still 
greater weakness. They should never be used 
under any circumstances whatever. On the 
contrary, everything of a stimulating character 
must be carefully avoided, even in diet. 

Varicocele. — Patients suffering from this diffi- 
culty should wear a proper suspensory bag, as 
the continued pressure of the distended veins 
upon the testes, if unsupported, will ultimately 
cause degenerative changes and atrophy. A sur- 
gical operation, consisting of the removal of a 
portion of the skin of the scrotum, is proper if 
the patient desires an operation ; no other opera- 
tion is advisable. 

The wearing of a suspensory bag is also advis- 
able for those whose testicles are unusually pend- 
ulous. 

Drugs, Rings, etc. — If drugs, per se, will cure 
invalids of any class, they are certainly worth- 
less in this class of patients. The whole materia 



SOLITARY VICE. 331 

medica affords no root, herb, extract, or com- 
pound that will cure a person suffering from 
emissions. Thousands of unfortunates have 
been ruined by long-continued drugging. One 
physician will purge and salivate the patient. 
Another will poison him with phosphorus, qui- 
nine, or ergot. Another feeds him with iron. 
Another plies him with lupuline, camphor, and 
digitaline. Still another narcotizes him with opi- 
um, belladonna, and chloral. Purgatives and 
diuretics are given by another, and some will be 
found ready to empty the whole pharmacopoeia 
into the poor sufferer's stomach if he can be got 
to open his mouth wide enough. 

The way that some of these poor fellows are 
blistered, and burned, and cauterized, and tor- 
tured in sundry other ways, is almost too horri- 
ble to think of ; yet they endure it, often will- 
ingly, thinking it but just punishment for their 
sins, and perhaps hoping to expiate them by this 
cruel penance. By these procedures, the emis- 
sions are sometimes temporarily checked, but the 
patient is not cured, nevertheless, and the malady 
soon returns. 

The employment of rings, pessaries, and nu- 
merous other mechanical devices for preventing 
emissions, is entirely futile. No dependence can 
be placed upon them. Some of these contriv- 
ances are very ingenious, but they are all worth- 
less, and time and money spent upon them are 
thrown away. 



332 SEXUAL LIFE. 

Quacks. — The victims of self -abuse fall an 
easy prey to the hordes of harpies, fiends in hu- 
man shape, who are ready at every turn to make 
capital out of their misfortunes. From no class 
of persons do quacks and charlatans derive so 
rich a harvest as from these erring ones. It is 
not uncommon to find a man suffering from sem- 
inal weakness who has paid to sundry parties 
hundreds of dollars for " specifics " which they 
advertised as " sure cures." We have seen and 
treated scores of these patients, but never yet 
met a single case that had received benefit from 
patent medicines. 

The newspapers are full of the advertisements 
of these heartless villains. They advertise un- 
der the guise of " clergymen," charitable institu- 
tions, cured invalids, and similar pretenses. Us- 
ually they offer for sale some pill or mixture 
which will be a sure care, in proof of which 
they cite the testimonials of numerous individ- 
uals'who never lived, or, at least, never saw 
either them or their filthy compounds ; or, 
they promise to send free a recipe which will be 
a certain cure. Here is a specimen recipe which 
was sent by a " reverend " gentleman who claims 
to be a returned missionary from South America 
so intent on doing good that he charges nothing 
for his invaluable information : — 

Extract of Corrossa apimis, ... 8 drams. 

ii ii Selarmo umbel if era, . 4 n 

Powdered Alkermes latifolia, . . . 3 n 

Extract of Carsadoc herbalis, . . 6 n 



SOLITARY VICE. 



This remarkable recipe is warranted to cure all 
the evils arising from self -abuse without any at- 
tention to diet or inconvenience of any kind, to 
prevent consumption and insanity, and to cure 
venereal diseases. It is also declared to be a per- 
fectly " safe " remedy for all female difficulties, 
which means that it will aid nefarious purposes. 

Along with the recipe comes the suggestion 
that the druggist may not be able to furnish all 
the ingredients in a perfectly pure state, and so, 
for the accommodation of suffering humanity, 
this noble philanthropist has taken infinite pains 
to secure them direct from South America, and 
has them put up in neat little packages which 
he will send, post-paid, for the trifle of S3. 50, 
just one cent less than actual cost. Then he 
tells what purports to be the history of his own 
nastiness, with a generous spicing of pious cant, 
and closes with a benediction on all who have 
fallen into the same slough, and especially those 
who will send for his fabulous foreign weeds to 
help them out. 

A young man sees the advertisement of a book 
which will be sent free, postage paid, if he will 
only send his address. The title of the book be- 
ing of some such character as "Manhood Re- 
gained," or " Nervous Debility," he imagines it 
may suit his case, and sends his name. Return 
mail brings the book, which is a wretched jargon 
of confused terms and appalling descriptions of 
the effects of self-abuse, with the most shameful 
exaggerations of the significance of the most triv- 



334 SEXUAL LIFE. 

ial symptoms. The ignorant youth reads what 
he supposes to be a description of his own case ; and 
is frightened nearly to death. He is most happily 
relieved, however, to find that the generous pub- 
lishers of the book have a remedy which is just 
adapted to his case, but which is so precious that 
it cannot be afforded at less than $50.00 for a 
sufficient quantity to effect a cure. He willingly 
parts with his hard-earned dollars, and gets, in re- 
turn, some filthy mixture that did not cost a 
shilling. 

Another trap set is called an " Anatomical 
Museum." The anatomical part of the exhibi- 
tion consists chiefly of models and figures calcu- 
lated to excite the passions to the highest pitch 
of sensuality. At stated intervals the proprie- 
tor, who is always a " doctor," and by preference 
a German, delivers lectures on the effects of mas- 
turbation in which he resorts to every device to 
excite the fears and exaggerate the symptoms of 
his hearers, who are mostly young men and boys. 
Thus he prepares his victim, and when he once 
gets him within his clutches, he does not let him 
go until he has robbed him of his last dollar. 

We might present almost any number of illus- 
trations of the ways in which these human 
sharks pursue their villainy. If there were a 
dungeon dee]), dark, and dismal enough for the 
punishment of such rascals, we should feel 
strongly inclined to petition to have them incar- 
cerated in it. They defy all laws, civil as well 
as moral, but are cunning enough to keep out- 



SOLITARY VICE. 335 

side of prison bars ; and thus they wax rich by 
robbery, and thrive by deceit. A terrible recom- 
pense awaits them at the final settlement, though 
they escape so easily now. 

Closing Advice. — We cannot conclude this 
volume without a few closing words of advice 
to those who are suffering in any way from the 
results of sexual transgression. We are espe- 
cially anxious to call attention to a few points 
of practical and vital interest to all who are suf- 
fering in the manner indicated. 

1. Give the matter prompt attention. Do not 
delay to adopt curative measures under the de- 
lusive idea that the difficulty will disappear of 
itself. Thousands have procrastinated in this 
way until their constitutions have been so hope- 
lessly undermined as to make treatment of little 
value. The intrinsic tendency of this disease is 
to continue to increase. It progresses only in 
one direction. It never " gets well of itself " as 
some have imagined that it may do. Some- 
thing must be done to effect a cure ; and the 
longer treatment is delayed, the more difficult 
the case will become. 

2. Set about the work of getting well with a 
fixed determination to persevere, and never to 
give over the struggle until success is attained, 
no matter how difficult may be the obstacles to 
be surmounted. Such an effort will rarely be 
unsuccessful. One of the greatest impediments 
to recovery from diseases of this class is the 



:WG SEXUAL LIFE. 

vacillating disposition of nearly all patients suf- 
fering from disorders of this character. Make 
np your mind what course of treatment to pur- 
sue, then adhere to it rigidly until it has re- 
ceived a thorough trial. Do not despair if no 
very marked results are seen in a week, a month, 
or even a longer period. The best remedies are 
among those which operate the most slowly. 

3. Avoid watching for symptoms. Ills are 
greatly exaggerated by dwelling upon them. 
One can easily imagine himself getting worse 
when he is really getting better. Indeed, one 
can make himself sick by dwelling upon insig- 
nificant symptoms. Fix upon a course to pur- 
sue for recovery, firmly resolve to comply with 
every requirement necessary to insure success, 
and then let the mind be entirely at rest respect- 
ing the result. 

4. Never consult a quack. The newspapers 
abound with lying advertisements of remedies 
for diseases of this character. Do not waste 
time and money in corresponding with the ig- 
norant, unprincipled charlatans who make such 
false pretensions. Do not consult traveling doc- 
tors. Physicians of real merit have plenty of 
business at home. They are not obliged to go 
abroad in order to secure practice. Persons 
who resort to this course are, without exception, 
pretentious quacks. Consult only some well- 
known and reliable physician in whom you have 
confidence. If your physician treats the matter 



SOLITARY VICE. 337 

lightly, and advises marriage as a means of cure, 
you will not judge him harshly if you decide 
that although he may be thoroughly competent 
to treat other diseases, he is ignorant of the nat- 
ure and proper treatment of this. It is an un- 
fortunate fact that there are very few physicians 
who are thoroughly acquainted with the nature 
of spermatorrhoea and the proper mode of treat- 
ing the disease ; hence the importance of mak- 
ing a judicious selection in choosing a medical 
adviser. If possible, employ one whom you 
know to have treated successfully numerous 
similar cases, and give him your entire confi- 
dence. 

5. Do not despair of ever recovering from the 
effects of past transgression and plunge into 
greater depths of sin. Persevering, skillful treat- 
ment will cure almost every case. Even the 
worst cases can be greatly benefited if the ear- 
nest co-operation of the patient can be secured. ■ 
This is indispensable, and the patient should be 
so instructed at the outset of a course of treat- 
ment. 

6. Every sufferer from sexual disease must 
make up his mind to live, during the remainder 
of his life, as closely in accord with the laws of 
life and health as circumstances under his con- 
trol will allow him to dd. One who pursues this 
course, with a genuine regard for principle and a 
love for right, may confidently expect to receive 

Sex. Lite. £5J£ 



338 SEXUAL LIFE. 

the reward of obedience for his faithfulness. 
We would recommend such to obtain and study 
the best works upon hygiene, put in practice ev- 
ery new truth as soon as learned, and become 
missionaries of the saving truths of hygiene to 
others who are suffering from the same cause as 
themselves, or who may be in danger of falling 
into the same evil. In missionary work they 
will forget themselves, and will in a measure 
atone for their own violation of the laws of God 
and nature. 




APPENDIX 



For the benefit of those who may wish to make a 
practical application of the suggestions respecting diet 
and treatment offered in the preceding pages, we have 
devoted the few pages of this appendix to a considera- 
tion of some important points relating to diet, recipes 
for the healthful preparation of a few standard articles 
of food, and directions for the giving of such of the 
treatment recommended in the foregoing pages as can 
be given without the assistance of a skilled physician. 

Food and Diet, 

ii 
In the few pages we have to devote to this subject we 
can only touch upon a few of the chief points, those 
which are of especial practical interest and are directly 
related to the subject of this work. 

Condiments. — Condiments are substances which 
are mingled with the food for the sole purpose of ren- 
dering it more palatable. They are of no value as nu- 
trients. That is, they do not furnish any material for 
the growth or repair of the body. They are never as- 
similated. Whether they render the food more palata- 
ble or not depends entirely on the taste of the eater. A 
perfectly natural taste requires no other condiments 
than those which nature has placed in the food. 

Condiments are not simply useless. Almost without 
exception they are irritating and stimulating in charac- 
ter. They occasion dyspepsia with all its dire effects, 

339 



340 APPENDIX, 



none of which are more distinct than those which in- 
volve the sexual organism. They are also a very prolific 
source of inactivity of the liver, a condition which affects 
the whole system injuriously, and no part of it more ap- 
preciably than the genital organs. 

In addition to the indirect injury which is done the 
sexual organs by condiments through disturbance of the 
stomach and liver, very many condiments have a direct 
influence in occasioning excitement and congestion of 
those parts. Salt, pepper, mustard, ginger, cloves, 
spices, cinnamon, and all similar condiments have this 
effect in a notable degree. Vinegar, pickles, truffles, 
most salads, stimulating sauces, and all articles of a sim- 
ilar character, should be totally discarded by one who 
wishes to maintain or to regain sexual health. 

Although salt is purely a condiment, and entirely un- 
necessary for health, we do not advise its immediate or 
complete disuse in all cases ; but its use may be greatly 
lessened, by all who use it freely, with great benefit ; 
and any one can relinquish its use by degrees without 
inconvenience. 

Animal Food. — That animal food is not the natural 
food of man, as indicated by his anatomical structure, 
is admitted and plainly stated by the best naturalists. 
Other arguments of the most convincing character may 
be adduced in support of this view.* It will not be 
claimed, however, that a purely vegetarian diet is the 
best for all persons under all circumstances ; neverthe- 
less, experience with a large number of invalids of the 
class for whom these lines are penned has demonstrated 
the superiority of a diet chiefly composed of fruits and 

* For a resume of the subject, see a work entitled, " Proper 
Diet for Man," published at this Office. 



APPENDIX. 341 



grains for persons suffering from nervous debility. Not 
only beef, mutton, and pork, but fish, fowl, and eggs, 
may be discarded with benefit. These articles are all 
stimulating in character. Even milk should be used in 
moderation, and may, in time, be discarded altogether 
with the best results. Butter and cheese should also 
be discarded by one who wishes to make his dietary 
thoroughly hygienic in character, and with advantage. 
If animal food is eaten at all, lean beef from a healthy 
animal is preferable to most other kinds of flesh food. 

Pastry. — Pies, cakes, and all kinds of culinary 
sweetmeats, must be discarded as unfit to enter a human 
stomach, at least when made with the usual concomi- 
tants, lard, spices, butter, and other " seasoning.'' Pies 
and cakes may be made in such a way as to be perfectly 
wholesome. 

Fruits. — Some kind of fruit should constitute a por- 
tion of every meal. There is no more wholesome food 
than ripe apples, pears, peaches, and the various small 
fruits. Foreign fruits, figs, dates, raisins, prunes, etc., 
should be plentifully used. One of the greatest advan- 
tages of fruit as an article of food is its relaxing effect 
upon the bowels, which are usually constipated in pa- 
tients suffering from nervous debility. Fruit should be 
made a part of the meal, and should not be eaten after 
a sufficiency of other food has been taken, nor between 
meals. Care should be taken in eating fruit to masti- 
cate it very thoroughly, as this will often prevent the ill 
effects which seem to result from its use by some per- 
sons with very weak digestive organs. Cooked fruit 
can nearly always be used even by those who cannot eat 
it in a raw state. It is necessary for some dyspeptics 
to take the precaution to avoid eating fruits and vege- 



342 APPENDIX. 



tables at the same meal. Fruits and grains usually 
agree perfectly together. In the use of fruits it is im- 
portant to avoid any excess in the use of sugar. The 
more sparingly sugar in the commercial form is used by 
persons with weak digestive organs, the better. Sour 
fruits may be rendered palatable by mixing with such 
sweet fruits as dates, figs, raisins, etc. 

Grains. — The various grains should constitute the 
chief portion of the diet. The various preparations from 
wheat, corn, rye, and oatmeal, are the most wholesome 
and nutritious of all articles of diet. The only objec- 
tionable preparation is finely bolted wheat flour. This 
is one of the most insufficient of all articles used as food. 
It consists almost wholly of starch, and lacks several of 
the most important alimentary principles. These are 
contained in the outer portions of the grain, and are re- 
tained in wheat meal, or graham flour, which should al- 
ways be taken in preference to fine flour. Oatmeal is 
one of the most delicious and nourishing of foods when 
properly cooked. Those who discontinue the use of an- 
imal food should make free use of oatmeal, wheat meal, 
and other whole-grain preparations. 

Hints Respecting Food and Diet. — Eat moder- 
ately, and masticate the food thoroughly. Kapid eating 
is one of the great causes of overeating. 

Eat nothing between meals. If there is a sensation 
of " goneness " at the stomach at night, or some time 
before meals, it may usually be relieved by taking a few 
sips of cool water. 

Changes of diet should not be made too suddenly. 
A gradual change can be made at less expense to the 
system than an abrupt one. If meat has been used 
freely several times a day, curtail the allowance to once 



APPENDIX. 343 



a day. After three or four weeks, take meat only once 
every other day. In a few weeks the allowance may be 
reduced to twice a week, then once a week. and. finally, 
entire abstinence. As the use of meat is discontinued, 
care should be used to supply its place with palatable 
preparations. of the various grains, peas, beans, etc. 

Oare should be taken to avoid an impoverished diet. 
No good can result from diminishing the supply of nu- 
triment below the actual needs of the system, and such 
a course will be productive of much harm if long con- 
tinued. 

It is a good plan to fix upon a dietary to employ, and 
then think as little as possible about eating and diges- 
tion, as indigestion may result from a concentration of 
the mind upon the stomach. 

Any effort at dietetic reform must be a consistent one 
in order to be in any degree effective. It will be of no 
use to reform in some particulars and commit worse vio- 
lations in others ; neither will much good result from 
the observation of a few of the laws of health while 
others, equally important, are disregarded. 

Do not eat too many kinds of food at a single meal. 
Three or four kinds are better than more. 

Xever eat when very weary, nor within three hours 
before retiring. 

Do not engage in violent exercise immediately after 
eating. 

RECIPES FOR WHOLESOME FOOD. 

The following collection of recipes is not offered as a 
complete guide for the preparation of hygienic food, but 
only as samples of what may be considered as perfectly 
wholesome food ; those who wish to know more about 
the subject should send to this Office for a copy of 



?44 APPENDIX. 



" Healthful Cookery," from which most of the follow- 
ing recipes are taken. 

Gems.— Into one part of cold, soft water stir two 
parts of the best wheat meal, taking pains to incorpo- 
rate with the batter as much air as possible. The bat- 
ter should be just thick enough so that it will not settle 
flat when placed in the cast-iron gem-pans in which it 
should be baked. The pans should be heated very hot 
before the batter is put in. Bake in a very quick oven. 
Various kinds of gems can be made by mixing the vari- 
ous grains in various proportions. 

Crisps. — Mix graham flour or oatmeal with cold 
water into a very stiff dough. Roll very thin, and bake 
in a hot oven. Eat while warm. Excellent for dys- 
peptics. 

Fruit Toast. — Slice and toast cold soft biscuit. 
Place in a proper dish and pour over the slices hot 
canned whortleberries, raspberries, or similar fruit, with 
much juice. Eat with oatmeal crisps. Some cooks 
soften the toast with hot water before adding the fruit. 

Oatmeal Pudding. — Sift one part of coarsely 
ground oatmeal into three or four parts of boiling water, 
stirring five minutes or until it sets. Cover closely, and 
put it where it will only simmer for a half hour. Do 
not stir after it sets, and take up carefully. It is some- 
what improved by cooking three-quarters of an hour. 

Snow Cake. — Take one part of corn meal and two 
parts dry snow. If the snow is moist, use less. Mix 
well in a cold room. Bake in gem-pans, filling the pans 
rounding full. Place quickly in a very hot oven. If 
the cakes are raw, or too dry, more snow was required. 
If they are heavy, too much snow was used. 

Breakfast Cake. — Saturate oatmeal of medium 



APPENDIX. 345 



fineness. Pour the batter into a shallow baking-dish, 
and shake down level. It should be wet enough so that 
when this is done a little water will stand on the top. 
Bake twenty minutes in a quick oven. It may also be 
baked in fifteen minutes on the top of the stove in a 
covered dish. 

Rolls. — Make a stiff batter with cold water, work in 
as much flour as will knead well, and then knead for 
twenty minutes or half an hour. Make into rolls one- 
half inch to two inches in thickness, and bake in a hot 
oven on a grate or baking-pan dusted with flour, laying 
them a little distance apart. Excellent rolls may be 
made by kneading flour into cold graham, corn-meal, or 
oatmeal pudding. 

Cocoanut Cookies. — One cup good wheat meal, 
one-half cup grated cocoanut, and one-half cup sugar. 
Rub these thoroughly' together, then wet with a scant 
half cup of water — just enough to make a dough as soft 
as can be readily worked. Roll out to one-third of an 
inch, cut into shapes, and bake in a pretty quick oven 
about fifteen minutes. Some care is required not to 
bake them too hard. 

Oatmeal Gruel. — Mix a tablespoonful of oatmeal 
with a little cold water ; pour on the mixture a quart of 
boiling water, stirring it well ; let it settle two or three 
minutes ; then pour it into the pan carefully, leaving 
the coarser part of the meal at the bottom of the vessel ; 
set it on the fire and stir it till it boils ; then let it 
simmer about thirty minutes, and skim. 

Cracked Wheat. — Take one part of the wheat to 
four or five parts of water. In making, follow the di- 
rections given for oatmeal pudding, allowing it to sim- 
mer four or five hours. It will cook quite as fast when 



346 APPENDIX. 



only simmering as when boiling hard, and will be much 
less likely to burn. It is a very healthful dish. 

Hydropathic Appliances, etc. 

Water is one of the most potent agents which can be 
employed in the treatment of disease. As is the case 
with all remedies, its efficiency depends, in very large 
degree, upon the manner in which it is applied. Un- 
skillfully applied, it may be the means of great injury. 

Water, although an excellent remedy, is not a spe- 
cific. It is recommended only as an adjunct of other 
remedies and the general regimen which has been sug- 
gested in the preceding pages. It is especially neces- 
sary that every one who attempts to employ the remedy 
should first thoroughly familiarize himself with its prop- 
erties, and with all the details of application. 

Remedies of this kind can be much more successfully 
used at an institution where there are abundant facili- 
ties for administering treatment. Hence, it is advisable 
that the patient should visit such an institution in case 
circumstances will permit him to do so. For the bene- 
fit of those whose circumstances compel them to resort 
to home treatment, we give the following directions for 
several kinds of baths and other applications : — 

General Rules. — 1. Do not take a general bath 
when greatly exhausted, nor within three hours after 
eating. 

2. Never bathe when cooling off after profuse sweat- 
ing, as reaction will then often be deficient. 

3. Always wet the head before taking any form of 
bath, to prevent determination of blood to the head. 

4. If the bath be a warm one, always conclude it 



APPENDIX. 347 



with an application of water which is a few degrees 
cooler than the bodily temperature. 

5. Be careful to thoroughly dry the patient after his 
bath, rubbing vigorously to prevent chilling. 

6. The most favorable time for taking a bath is be- 
tween the hours of ten and twelve in the forenoon. 

7. The temperature of the room should be at about 
80° or 85°, for most patients. 

8. Always employ for bathing purposes the purest 
water attainable. 

Sponge Bath. — A great quantity of water is not 
required ; a few quarts are a plenty, and a pint will 
answer admirably in an emergency. A soft sponge, or 
a linen or cotton cloth, and one or two soft towels, or a 
sheet, are the other requisites. The hand may be used 
in the absence of a cloth or a sponge for applying the 
water. 

The temperature of the bath should not be above 95 °, 
and 90° is generally better. Most people can habitu- 
ally employ a temperature of 75° or 80° without injury. 
The use of a much lower temperature is not commonly 
advisable, and is often productive of great injury. 

Begin the bath, as usual, by wetting the head, satu- 
rating the hair well. Wash the face, then the neck, 
chest, shoulders, arms, trunk, and back. Rub vigor- 
ously until the skin is red. to prevent chilling ; for even 
when the temperature of the room is nearly equal to 
that of the body, the rapid evaporation of water from 
the surface will lower the external temperature very 
rapidly unless a vigorous circulation is maintained. 

After thoroughly bathing the upper portion of the 
body, turn the attention to the lower portion, continu- 
ing the rubbing of the upper parts at brief intervals to 
prevent chilliness. As soon as the bathing is concluded, 



348 APPENDIX. 



envelop the body in a sheet and rub dry, or dry the 
skin with a towel. When the surface is nearly or quite 
dried, rub the whole vigorously with the bare hand. 

The bath should not be prolonged more than ten or 
fifteen minutes. Five minutes are sufficient to secure all 
the benefits of the bath, and even three minutes will 
suffice for a very good bath. 

Persons who chill easily will find it better to bathe 
only a portion of the body before drying it. Some will 
even find it necessary to retain a portion of the clothing 
upon the lower part of the body while bathing and dry- 
ing the upper part. 

Full Bath. — For this bath a tub is required the 
length of the body, about eighteen inches deep, two 
feet wide at the top, and, preferably, six inches narrower 
at the bottom. It is better to have the end intended for 
the head a little elevated. Place in the tub sufficient 
water so that the patient will be entirely covered, with 
the exception of the head, when he lies upon his back. 
During the bath, the body should be vigorously rubbed 
by the bather or an attendant, or both, particular pains 
being taken to knead and manipulate the abdomen, in a 
gentle, but thorough manner. The temperature of the 
bath, w T hen taken for cleanliness, or for its soothing 
effects, should be not more than 95°, and it should be 
cooled down to about 85° before the conclusion of the 
bath, by the addition of cool water. 

A cheap bath can be constructed of duck well oiled 
or covered with paint and suspended from a frame ; but 
it will be quite unsatisfactory, not being perfectly water- 
tight, as such a bath should be for family use. A sta- 
tionary bath may be made of wood, of the dimensions 
given, and lined with lead or zinc. There should be an 
opening in the lower end for withdrawing the water. 



APPENDIX. 349 



This bath may be taken with great advantage once or 
twice a week by patients suffering from nervous debility. 

Sitz Bath. — For this bath a common tub may be 
used, by placing a support under one edge to elevate it 
two or three inches ; but it is better to use a tub made 
for the purpose, which should have the back raised 
eight or ten inches higher than the front, to support 
the back, the sides sloping gradually so as to support 
the arms of the bather. The bottom should be elevated 
two or three inches. The depth in front should be 
about the same as that of a common wash-tub. Enough 
water is required to cover the hips and extend a little 
way up the abdomen ; four to six gallons will suffice. 

In diseases of the character treated of in this book 
the sitz bath is usually employed for its sedative effects. 
To obtain these effects the bath should be given thus : 
Place in the bathing-tub four or five gallons of water at 
90° F. Prepare water in a suitable vessel for a foot 
bath at 95° F. Place the patient in the bath after first 
wetting his head with tepid water, and having him 
place his feet in the foot bath as soon as he places him- 
self in the sitz bath. After five minutes have elapsed, 
add a sufficient quantity of cool water to lower the tem- 
perature to 80° F., and allow the patient to remain in 
the bath fifteen minutes longer. The temperature of 
the foot bath should be lowered a few degrees just pre- 
vious to the conclusion of the bath. The bath may be 
followed by the sponge bath, rubbing wet-sheet, spray, 
or any other form of light general bath. It is necessary 
with some patients to commence the bath, at first, at 
92° or 93°. 

This bath may be taken three or four times a week 
with great advantage, and in many cases it may be taken 



350 APPENDIX, 



every day. The preferable time is about 8 P. M., or 
just before retiring. 

Hot and Cold Foot Bath. — Place the feet in 
hot water — 100° to 110° — three or four minutes. 
Then withdraw them and plunge them quickly into a 
bath of cold water — 60° or less. After two or three 
minutes, restore them to the hot bath. Thus alternate 
three or four times, and conclude by dipping the feet 
quickly into cold water and wiping dry. This bath pro- 
duces most powerful reaction, and is one of the best rem- 
edies for cold feet. 

Douche. — This is a good remedy in cases of sper- 
matorrhoea in which there is much pain in the peri- 
neum. The water should be conducted through a pipe 
or rubber hose from a reservoir so placed as to allow a 
fall of from six to twelve feet. The patient should be 
placed in such a position that a small stream may be 
conveniently directed upon the seat of irritation. The 
bath may be continued ten or fifteen minutes. The wa- 
ter should be of the temperature which is found to give 
most relief. Hot, cold, and alternate hot-and-cold ap- 
plications are found useful in different cases. 

Compress. — The compress is a wet cloth or band- 
age applied to a part. When the part is to be cooled, a 
compress composed of several folds should be wet in 
cool, cold, or iced water, as required, and placed upon 
the part after being wrung so it will not drip. It 
should be changed as often as every five minutes. This 
is often neglected to the injury of the patient. A very 
cold compress may be prepared by placing snow or 
pounded ice between the folds of the compress. This 
will not need renewal so frequently ; but its effects must 



APPENDIX. 351 



be carefully watched, as injury may be done by neg- 
lect. 

Fomentation. — This is, essentially, a hot com- 
press. Fold a soft flannel cloth twice, so that it will be 
of three or four thicknesses. Lay it in a basin, pom- 
boiling water upon it, and wring it dry by folding it in 
a dry towel. Or, if only one end of the cloth is wet, it 
may be wrung by folding the dry portion outside of the 
wet; in wringing, the whole will become equally wet. 
Apply it to the patient as hot as it can be borne. The 
second application can usually be made much hotter 
than the first. Frequently dipping the hands in cold 
water will enable the attendant to wring the cloth much 
hotter than he would otherwise be able to do. The 
most convenient way is to heat the cloths in a steamer ; 
by this means they are made as hot as boiling water, 
and yet they are more easily handled, not being saturat- 
ed with water. When no hot water is at hand, a fo- 
mentation may, in an emergency, be quickly prepared 
by wetting the flannel in cool water, wringing it as dry 
as desired, folding it between the leaves of a newspaper, 
and laying it upon the top of the stove, or holding it 
smoothly against the side. The paper prevents the 
cloth from becoming soiled, the water protects the pa- 
per from burning, and the steam generated quickly 
heats the cloth to boiling heat. 

Dry Hand - Rubbing. — This application consists 
in rubbing the body gently with the palm of the dry 
hand. The force of the rubbing should be nicely grad- 
uated to the condition of the patient. When employed 
to excite considerable activity of the skin, the rubbing 
may be accompanied with light percussion of the sur- 
face. 



352 APPENDIX. 



Air Bath. — The air has a very soothing effect upon 
the body when allowed to come in contact with the en- 
tire surface. It answers a very valuable purpose when 
a water bath is impossible, or when the patient is too 
feeble to endure the application of water. A sleepless 
person will often fall into a sound and refreshing slum- 
ber after walking a few minutes in his room with the 
whole body exposed to the air. 

Enema. — Fecal accumulations in the lower bowel 
are more quickly and easily removed by an enema of 
warm water than by any purgative, laxative, or cathartic 
ever discovered or invented ; and the use of this remedy 
is never accompanied by the unpleasant and painful 
griping and tenesmus which often accompany the use of 
cathartics. The administration is a trifle more trouble- 
some, but the results are enough superior to more than 
repay the inconvenience. The fountain syringe is far 
preferable to any other for administering injections. 
Water about blood-warm should be used when the pur- 
pose is to relieve constipation, and a*"considerable quan- 
tity — one to three pints, or more — may be used. The 
water should be retained for a few minutes, while the 
bowels are kneaded and shaken. 

The enema should not be continuously employed ex- 
cept for short periods. When long used, it often be- 
comes the source of serious mischief in producing the 
very disease for which it is used as a remedy. 

Those who wish to obtain a more complete knowledge 
of the uses of water should send to this Office for a copy 
of a recently published work devoted to the subject, enti- 
tled, " Uses of Water," from which most of the preced- 
ing directions for hydropathic applications have been 
taken. 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Abdominal bandage, 324 

Abortion, 182 

' * causes of, 187 

u nature of the crime, 191 

11 instruments of crime, 193 

" results of, 194 

11 remedy for the crime, 197 
Abuse of reproduction, . . 73-93 

Acne, 259 

After-birth, 41 

Amativeness, 97 

Anatomy of reproductive 

organs, 44-4? 

Animals, 18 

" sex in, . .. 26 

Animal magnetism, 141 

Ante-natal influences, 64 

Appetite, capricious, 257 

" abnormal, 258 

Applications to spine, 324 

Bad books, 105 

Bashfulness, 253 

Bathing, 128 

Birth, 42 

Boldness, 253 

Breasts, 43 

Cancer of the womb, 293 

Capricious appetite, 257 

Castration, 72 

Catamenia, 50 

Causes of unchastity,. ..... 

101, 102, 114 

Chastity, 94-115 



PAGE. 

Changes in child at birth.. . 42 

Chlorosis, 260 

Circumcision, 71, 329 

Clergyman's sore throat,.. 145 

Clitoris, 32, 46 

Coitus, 31 

Cold bathing, 325 

Colostrum, 43 

Compress, 324, 350 

Conception, 37 

" prevention of, 160-181 

Constipation, 114, 115 

Consumption, 284 

Continence, 117-130 

"« not injurious, .. 118 
difficulty of, ... . 121 

" helps to, 122 

" male, 167 

Cowper' s glands, 45 

Day-dreams, 97 

Debility, 249, 2S4 

Development of ovum, 34, 37-40 

Diet, 102, 123 

Diet vs. chastity, 102 

Disease, 215 

Diurnal emissions, 278 

Douche, 323, 350 

Dreams, 351 

" can be controlled, . . 316 
Dress and sensuality, ...... 110 

Dress a cause of menstrual 

derangements, 56 

Drugs 330 

Dyspepsia, 285 

353 



354 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Early training, lack of, ... . 210 

Effects of self-abuse, 266 

" local in males, 266 

" general in males, .. . 282 

1 ' local in females, 292 

1 i general in females, . 294 

" upon offspring,.... 296 

" curative treatment of, 301 

Ejaculatory duct, 45 

Electricity, 326 

Elements of life, 26 

Emissions, nocturnal, 272 

diurnal, 278 

" internal, 280 

Enemata, 325, 352 

Epilepsy, 287 

Evil associations, 239 

Excesses, results of, 141 

" effects on husbands, 141 

" " " wives, . .. 147 

*' " " offspring, 151 

Exercise, 123 

Extra-uterine pregnancy, . . 57 

Fallopian tube, 36, 46 

Fashion, 210 

Fecundation, 29, 47 

1 ' nature of, ... . 34 
Female organs of genera- 
tion, 45 

Fickleness, 252 

Fomentations, 325, 351 

Foreskin, 44 

Gluttony, 207 

Heart disease, 286 

Heredity, 61 

Hermaphrodism, 24 

Husbands, effects of ex- 
cesses upon, 141 



PAGE. 

Hybrids, 60 

Hymen, 46 

Hysteria, 260 

Idleness, 109 

Ignorance, 214 

Immorality of preventives 

of conception, 170 

Impotence, 281 

Infanticide and abortion, 

182-198 

Insanity 289 

Introduction, 11 

Internal applications, 326 

Internal emissions, 280 

Irritation of the bladder, 79, 115 

Labia, 46 

" minora, 46 

Lacteal secretion, 43, 70 

Law of sex, 60 

Leucorrhoea, 293 

Libidinous blood, 205 

Licentiousness, results of, . 216 
Life, 17 

" elements of, 26 

Life force, 19 

Living beings, 16 

Magnetism, animal, 141 

Male continence, 16? 

Male organs of reproduc- 
tion, 44 

Mammae, 43 

" small, 257 

" atrophy of, 257 

Marital excesses, 131-159 

Marriage, 81 

" time for, 85 

" early, 87 

Masturbation, 233 



INDEX. 



355 



PAGE. 

Menopause, 51, 80 

Menstruation, 49 

Mental uncleanness, 96 

Menses, 50 

Milk, 43 

" influence of after birth, 70 

Modern modes of life, 116 

Monsters, 58 

Navel, 41 

Nervous diseases, 287 

Nocturnal emissions, 272 

" " not neces- 
sary, 275 

Nurses, 241 

Nursing, 43 

Nymphse, 46 

Object of reproduction, 132 

Onanism, 233 

conjugal, 160 

Ova, 29 

" development of, 34 

Palpitation, 260 

Pangenesis, 61 

Paralysis 256 

Parturition, 42 

Penis, 31, 44 

Piles, 269 

Pimples, 259 

Physical causes of uncbas- 

tity, 114 

Placenta, 41 

Precocious sexuality, 208 

Pregnancy, 57 

" extra-uterine,... 57 

Prepuce, 44 

Prevention of conception, 

160-181 



PAGE. 

Primitive trace, 37 

11 " division of, . 59 

Priapism, 269 

Prostate gland, 45 

" " enlarged, .. 268 

Prolapsus of rectum, 269 

Prostitution as a remedy for 

nervous debility, 319 

Pruritus, 294 

Puberty, 47 

Pudenda, 46 

Quacks, 332 

Regimen and treatment for 

self-abuse, 306 

Reproduction, 20-43 

organs of,.. 44-47 

" use and abuse of, 73-93 

object of,... 132 

" Shaker views of, 168 

Religion, 128 

Results of excesses, 141 

Rings, 330 

Round shoulders, 256 

Rut, 51 

Satyriasis, 81, 115 

Scrotum, 26, 44 

Secret vice, 233 

" " prevention of, . 298 

Self-abuse, 233 

Self-pollution, 233 

" signs of, 247 

" treatment of, .... 297 

Seminal fluid, 45 

" value of, 283 

" " deterioration of, 152 

Senile sexuality, 80 

Sentimental literature, .... 212 
Sex, 24 



356 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Sex in plants, 25 

Sexual precocity, 74 

Signs of self-abuse, 247-260 

Simplest form of genera- 
tion, 28 

Site bath, 349 

Sleeplessness, 252 

Solitary vice, 233-338 

" " cure of the 

habit, 302 

Solitary vice, alarming 

prevalence of, 235 

Solitary vice, treatment of, 297 
" " causes of, .. 239 

" " results of, .. 266 

Spaying, 72 

Special senses, failure of, . . 287 

Spermatozoa, 26 

Spinal irritation, 288 

Spontaneous generation,... 21 
Sterility, 293 

Testicle, 26, 44 

" atrophy of, 271 

The social evil, 199-232 

" " causes of,.... 205 

" " cure of, 222 

" " prevention of, 224 

Throat affections, 286 

Tobacco and vice, 105 

Training of children, 225 

Turn of life, 51, 80 

Twins, 57 



PAGE. 

Umbilical cord, 41 

Unchaste conversation, .... 99 

Unchastity, causes of, 

! 101, 102, 114 

Urethra, 44 

" irritation of, 267 

stricture of, 267 

Urinary diseases, 268 

Use of reproduction, 73 

Uterus, 36, 46 

Uterine gestation, 37 

life, 41 

Uterine disease 293 

Utriculus, 45 

Vagina, . 31, 46 

Various sexual matters, . .47-72 

Varicocele, 271, 330 

Vas deferens, 45 

Vesicula seminalis, 45 

Vegetables, 18 

Venereal disease, 216 

" " hereditary 

effects of, 220 

Virginity, test of, 46 

Vulva, 46 

Warning of dangers of self- 
abuse, 299 

Wives, effects of excesses 
upon, 147 

Woman' s rights, 174 

Worms, 79, 115 



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